


I Thought I Lost You

by AnyaSei



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien/Chat Noir left for a bit, Adrinette, Aged Up, But he came back, But mostly Adrinette, College/Work, Don't worry, Eventual reveal, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Funny but frustrating, LadyNoir - Freeform, Mari kind of knows what's up with Chat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-11 08:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 38,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8972920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnyaSei/pseuds/AnyaSei
Summary: Ladybug has been fighting Akumas alone since Chat Noir disappeared. What makes it worse is that Marinette's crush/love of her life/finally friend Adrien leaves Paris at the same time and becomes uncontactable for two years.But when they both come back into her life, old flames start to reignite.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm new at this whole writing thing but I had an idea and I needed to get it out of my head hehe!
> 
> Anyway, I'm sorry if the story is a little messey here, I'll try to streamline it as I go along :)
> 
> \- Anya

Ladybug wipes the sweat off her brow as she lassos the Akumatised janitor with her yo-yo. As the monster crumbles to the ground, she sweeps her eyes across the rooftops one last time, her hope faltering when she sees... nothing.

He wasn't coming.

She breathes in sharply. It seemed like Ladybug would have to get used to working solo from now on. With a final burst of energy, she deevilizes the janitor and everything resets to the way it was.

Except now Ladybug was just 18-year old Marinette, leaning dejectedly against her locker in school. She looks over at Adrien's locker, untouched for two weeks and collecting dust since he left Paris for wherever it was that he went. First him, now Chat Noir.

Looks like she's going to lose all her partners.

**Two Years Later**

Marinette fumbled with her purse, trying to get her house keys out of her bag. Her bag was always incredibly disorganized, full of scraps and who-knows-what else lying around in there. Frowning, she shook her purse and tried to listen for the jingling sound of her keys. She finally managed to fish them out with her fingers and stuffed the key into the lock.

But before she could turn the key, she heard someone clearing his throat behind her. Her Ladybug senses kicked in and she swerved around, fists up and ready to defend herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you!" said the person who stood on the opposite side of the hallway. His was slightly crouched over and his arms were shielding his face, clearly an automatic response to her almost-attack.

Marinette's arms fell to her sides in shock as she gaped at him. Her confused blue eyes met with bright green ones.

The man straightened up, his eyes never looking away from her face. "Hi," he said nervously.

He looked a little different. He was a little taller, more built. His skin had become more sallow and he looked like he needed rest. But his blonde hair still reminded her of sunshine and his eyes were unmistakably those of -

"Adrien!" Without thinking, Marinette launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Adrien froze for a second, before melting in her embrace. They stood in each other's arms for a few seconds before Marinette pulled back to look at his face.

"I've missed you," she whispered.

"I've missed you too," he said quietly. Suddenly, he became hyper-aware that her face was too close to _his_ face, that he could cound every freckle if he wanted to. But he didn't want to. Right now, he wanted really badly to do something else.

All the feelings from the past five years of knowing her came rushing back to him in that moment. All the times they had danced around each other at school. The little crush that he had on her that he never told anybody about. He wanted to do something about it today.

Adrien felt his face grow warmer. His eyes flickered down to Marinette's lips for just a second but Marinette caught that glance. She subconsciously leaned closer and so did he, before their lips crashed hungrily against one another's.

This had never happened before. It took five years - two of them with him being absent - to get to this kiss. He didn't know what got over him but he just desperately wanted to feel loved right now. And she made him feel at home. She always did.

He was so tired and lost and he needed Marinette to comfort him.

He took a step forward and before Marinette knew it, her back was pushed up against the door to her apartment. Her heartbeat hammered in her chest and she was sure he could feel it. 

Why was he kissing her? She thought she was the one with the crush that she couldn't get over, yet the first thing Adrien does when he comes back is to kiss her senseless? She didn't get it but she didn't care.

With one hand wrapped around Adrien's back, her other hand grappled with turning the key in the lock.

It clicked. The door flew open and the two of them came crashing down on the floor of her apartment, Adrien landing on top of her, grinning wildly down at her. She felt her cheeks go pink.

"Adrien, the door - " she choked out, but he was way ahead of her. He kicked it closed with his foot and went straight back to kissing her. 

_'This cannot be happening,'_ Marinette thought. _'I am not making out with Adrien Agreste on the floor right now.'_

They hadn't even had time to _talk_ , for goodness sake! And they honestly had so much to talk about.

Her mind snapped back into focus when she felt Adrien unzipping her jacket halfway and her breath caught in her throat. 

_'Oh my god.'_

But he stopped short when something in her jacket pocket started ringing. He looked up at her face pleadingly. "Don't pick up."

Marinette considered doing as he said. But her phone kept ringing incessantly and she gave in, looking at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have to. It might be important," she said, as she reached into her pocket.

Adrien sighed and resolved to resting his head on her ribs, drawing little circles with his thumb on her skin where her t-shirt had ridden up. Marinette sucked in a breath and looked at her screen.

Alya was Facetiming her. She clicked 'answer'.

'HEY MARINETTE!' came Alya's loud voice through the phone.

"H-hey Alya!" Marinette answered lamely. "What's up?"

"I have such BIG news!" Alya paused. "Girl, where ARE you?"

"Wht are you talking about, I'm at home!" Marinette said quickly.

Alya shot her a suspicious look. "Yeah but why are you on the _floor_?" she asked.

Marinette blushed as she heard Adrien snigger quietly. "O-oh, nothing, just having a little lie down! What did you want to tell me again?" she said, changing the subject.

"Oh right! Nino just called me and guess what? ADRIEN IS BACK IN TOWN!" squealed Alya through the phone.

Marinette giggled. "I already know that!"

Alya furrowed her brows. "You do? But how, Nino literally JUST called me, like, three seconds ago."

Adrien took that as his queue and he dragged his body up to level himself to Marinette's face - which was now blushing furiously - and popped his blonde head into frame.

Marinette cringed beside him and he gave Alya a sheepish smile. "Hey Alya," he smiled.

"Adrien?? What are you doing at Marinette's - oh OH." Alya's eyes widened. She glanced back at Marinette and gasped. "Well. I - uh - I THINK I'M GONNA HANG UP NOW, BYE."

The line went dead and Marinette and Adrien burst into laughter. He rolled himself off her and landed with a thump beside her, still chuckling softly. "Well, so much for THAT," he sighed, both of them staring at the ceiling.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, their brains barely able to take in what had just happened, before Marinette finally spoke up.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

Adrien turned to look at her. Her profile was still as pretty as he remembered it to be. She didn't wear her hair in pigtails anymore, she stopped doing that at 17. She had lost her baby fat but she was still gorgeous, her lips slightly swollen (his fault, he remembered, with a flush) and her eyelashes fluttering with every blink. But she looked a little sad, too. And tired.

He wondered what happened to her when he left. Maybe now, he could really talk to her. Opening his mouth, he replied:

"I'd like that."


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette leaned forward with her elbows resting against her kitchen island, her eyes trailing as Adrien walked around her apartment and peered at everything curiously, his hands in his pockets.

She stirred two mugs of coffee, one of him and one for her, lost in thought.

She had so many questions for him. After two years of being missing, without much explanation, why did Adrien Agreste suddenly show up at her door? Why was he back? Why did he leave? Where did go? And - the question that hurt her most - why didn't he say goodbye to her?

She frowned. He had no idea how much she had suffered without his support in her life. He missed so many milestones. He missed their graduation from Francoise Dupont. He missed his three best friends getting into college together. He missed out on helping them move into their respective apartments, their first jobs. He wasn't there for any of it. 

She couldn't even talk to him about other things. Like how alone she felt, now that she was Paris' only superhero, and Chat Noir had abandoned her to do this whole Miraculous thing by herself. Of course, she couldn't possibly tell him that _she_ was Ladybug... But at least she could have shared some of her burdens with him. Alya was too involved with Ladybug with her blog that Marinette didn't want to risk talking about her double life with her. And Nino had never been able to comfort her as much as Adrien had, even though she had been friends with him for longer.

Yet, as much as she wanted to be angry at Adrien, she couldn't. She was just so glad her was back.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Adrien said something to her.

"Lots of boxes here," Adrien remarked, pointing to all her items packed in moving boxes and scattered across the apartment. "Are you moving out?"

"Ah, yeah I am," Marinette sighed. "I can't afford to pay rent here anymore. Between school and -" _fighting akumas alone_ "- other stuff, I haven't been able to work much. And no work means no money for rent," she laughed bitterly as she placed the two mugs of coffee down on a little round coffee table and sat down on the chaise lounge in her living room.

Adrien came over to join her on the chaise and looked over at her with concern. "What have you been so busy with?"

She coughed. "Oh, you know. Stuff."

He leaned in closer. "What kind of stuff?"

_'The kind where I'm Ladybug and my partner is MIA and I have to protect the city against akuma attacks by myself, which, by the way, have gotten much more frequent lately, and I'm having difficulty juggling between the responsibilities of my masked life and my real life, which has also been pretty drab because YOU left me with nobody to rely on, just as we were getting close to each other.'_

"Just," she waved a dismissive hand. "Little stuff. They add up." 

Adrien placed softly hand sofly over hers. "Mari. You know you can tell me anything right? I'm always here to help you." 

Marinette pulled her hand away and looked down. "How can that possibly be, Adrien? You weren't even here." She realized the sting of her words when he leaned back away from her, his eyes full of hurt. Marinettes fingers rose to her mouth and she gasped.

"I'm sorry, Adrien, I didn't mean to."

"Neither did I."

Marinette kicked herself mentally. Just half an hour ago, they had been lying on the floor, kissing like they'd never been kissed in their life; and now he was right here and she couldn't feel further away from him.

"So," Adrien piped up, trying to lighten the mood, "Where are you moving to?"

"My parents' again. It's my last resort but it's just for the time being, until I get my life together and find another place. And another job, for that matter."

"What! But that's so far away from your university! You know you have a punctuality problem, Princess," he smirked at her. For a second, she felt her heart flutter. He was smiling again. And he called her Princess! She hadn't heard that nickname in a while.

She grinned back at him. "You're one to talk. But what choice do I have?"

"What about Alya?" he suggested.

Marinette sighed. "She was the first person I thought about, but she just moved in with Nino and there's no way I could never intrude on the whole domestic situation they have going on there."

Adrien's face lit up as he got an idea. Moving in together. Domestic situation. Sounds like a plan! "What about me?" he asked excitedly.

Marinette, not understanding what he meant by that, just blinked at him. "What _about_ you?"

" _What about moving in with me!_ "

She almost spat out her coffee at hearing that. Moving in with ADRIEN AGRESTE?! How horribly, ridiculously... AMAZING did that sound??

But as much as she wanted to, she knew it was a bad idea. How would she explain this to Alya and Nino? Or anyone, for that matter? Adrien was a celebrity. The press would be all over him.

 _'You don't have to tell anyone. And Adrien disappeared for two years without the media knowing where he went. It'll be fine,'_ she rationalized with herself.

But it wouldn't be fine. Not for her heart. She'd never get over him. Sure, he'd just kissed her, but that was in the spur of the moment. He was just happy to see someone from his past, maybe. They'd never been anything more than friends and she had no reason to believe that they'd progress into something more.

She didn't want to spend another five years pining over someone who couldn't return her feelings. Especially while LIVING with him.

Marinetee looked straight into Adrien's piercing green eyes again. "Adrien, what are you talking about - " but her words were cut off by sounds of screaming coming from the streets below.

Glancing at each other, they jumped up from the chaise and rushed to the balcony to see what was happening.

To their horror, a giant green glob was wreaking havoc in the Parisian streets, leaving a trail of slime everywhere he went and trapping people in it.

"Adrien, I have to be somewhere -" Marinette started, turning around and heading for the door but Adrien grabbed on to her wrist and pulled her back. 

"No," he said firmly, his eyes narrowed and full of determination. "You're staying here, where it's safe."

"But I have to see if anybody needs help." She tried to wrestle out of his grip but he kept his hands tight around her. He dragged her away from the balcony and into the living room. 

"I'll go. You stay here and make sure you stay safe, Mari." He started towards the door but Marinette ran after him, trying to pull him back in.

"You'll get hurt," she cried.

Adrien turned and lifted up her hand before laying a soft kiss on the back of it. "I'd rather get hurt than see you get hurt."

Marinette wanted to scream at the pointlessness of all this. If only he would listen to her, nobody would have to get hurt. She had powers, she'd be fine. She would be able to fight the akuma and he would be safe. But she needed him gone to transform, and since he wasn't letting her leave, HE had to go.

She watched helplessly as he ran out the door. "I'll be fine, Princess, trust me!" He winked at her as he left. She felt her heart beat faster at the sight but she breathed in to control herself. There was a job to be done.

Now that he was gone, Marinette turned to Tikki, who was hiding in her purse.

"Tikki, spots on!"


	3. Chapter 3

The Mulchkin Man shot gooey blobs of green mush at Ladybug as she jumped from roof to roof. A single blob hit her in the arm and started oozing.

"Eww," whined Ladybug. "What sort of gross akuma is this?" 

"I know right? Definitely not something the _cat_ dragged in!"

Ladybug whipped her head around at the familiar voice. Her eyes widened in shock. Could it be? Chat Noir? Did he come back?

"It's been a while, M'lady," grinned Chat. "Did ya miss me?"

Ladybug couldn't believe her eyes (and her ears)! Chat Noir was back?! On the same day Adrien came back? What a weird coincidence, but she didn't have time to think about it much as she dodged another green glob.

She happily grinned back at her long-lost partner. "I've never been so happy to hear your terrible puns in my life!"

"I've got plenty _meore_ where that came from!" he winked. 

Ladybug rolled her eyes in feigned annoyance. The truth is, she couldn't be more pleased to see him. Fighting alone had taken a toll on her, as much as she tried to hide it.

But evidently, being gone for two years had taken a toll on Chat too. He wasn't as nimble as before, and Ladybug could see him struggling a little as he fought.

"What's the matter, chaton? Did you get a little fat while you were away?" she teased.

He scoffed, pretending to be offended. "M'lady, I may not be as quick on my claws -" he leapt up and hit the Mulchkin Man with his baton. "- but my body is still as beautiful as when you saw me last. I could give you a peek if you wanted."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "No, thank you. I don't miss you THAT much."

"Meowch," he pouted. "And here I thought you were happy to see me again."

She was. As much as she wanted to take the battle seriously, she couldn't stop smiling. Chat was back. Adrien was back. Everything was perfect. 

Until out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chat slip and fall, his side scraping against a metal spoke, ripping his suit and his skin. 

"Chat!" she screamed, reaching out for him. "Are you alright?" She kneeled over him, her face wrought with worry.

Chat Noir winced as he tried to sit up. "I'm fine. Just a little more rusty at this whole fighting thing than I thought."

"You need help," Ladybug said worriedly as she gingerly touched where he was bleeding.

Chat pushed her hand aside. "No, you need to deevilize the akuma. I'll be fine, Bugaboo, trust me." He winked.

At that moment, she couldn't help but think of Adrien. Hadn't he said the exact same thing to her a few minutes ago? How odd. She looked at Chat again and this time, the green eyes that stared back at her seemed more familiar.

Her heart skipped a beat. _'Could it be?'_

She didn't have the time to think about it now. She used her yo-yo as a grappling hook and hoisted herself up to the roof. Plunging her fist into the Mulchkin Man, she pulled out the test tube that floated within the green goo - he was probably an akumatised scientist - and broke it into pieces. Using her powers, she deevilized the akuma and watched as everything returned to normal.

She turned around to find Chat Noir standing behind her on the roof, still injured and his suit still ripped. 

"Why haven't my powers healed you?" she gasped.

Chat Noir shrugged. "I fell on my own. It wasn't the akuma's fault."

Ladybug furrowed her brows. "You need a doctor."

"I'm fine," he smirked. "Just a little cat scratch."

She couldn't help but give him a weak smile. "I've missed you, minou. Where have you been?"

Chat looked at her guiltily and brought a hand up to her cheek. "I'm sorry you had to fight all those akumas all alone. I hate myself for leaving you, M'lady... But I - I had something important I had to do." He stroked her face gently.

Tears threatened to spill out of Ladybug's eyes but she kept herself stoic. "I wish you'd give me a proper explanation."

"I can't, Ladybug. Not right now," he whispered sadly. 

They stood facing each other, hair blowing in the wind. Chat's arm clutched at his side, showing that he was still in pain. Suddenly, Ladybug thought about Adrien and wondered if he was alright.

"Will you be alright, Chat?"

"Definitely," he nodded. "And as much as I'd like to stay here and _chat_ ," he chuckled quietly. "I have someone important waiting for me."

"So do I," she replied. 

Chat Noir pulled her into a quick hug. "I'll be seeing you soon, then M'lady."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

And with that, they both leapt away from each other, happy to have reunited but sad to have had to leave.

***

Ladybug peered into the streets below, trying to find a sign of Adrien but he was nowhere in sight.

 _'Maybe he's back at the apartment,'_ she thought. She quickly jumped down into her own balcony, losing her transformation as quick as she could, in case Adrien might catch her. 

But the apartment was as empty as she had left it. Heading to the kitchen, she grabbed some cookies to drop into her purse for Tikki.

"Oh, Tikki, I hope he's not hurt," Marinette sighed.

Just as she said that, her door burst open and a haggard-looking Adrien burst in and crumbled to the floor.

"Adrien, oh my god, what did you do to yourself?" Marinette cried out as she rushed towards him. 

He smiled up at her weakly and lifted his hand off his side, where his torso was wounded with a huge gash.

"Haha, I guess I'm not as careful as I thought," he shrugged, wincing a little.

"Adrien..." Marinette sighed, clutching his face with both her hands, her voice getting wobbly as she tried not to cry. "I told you not to go out there." 

Adrien covered her hands with his and pressed his forehead to hers, grinning at her, "Am I tough now?"

"You idiot," was the only reply she could manage.

She helped him up abd brought him into her room, lowering him carefully on the bed.

"Don't move," she ordered. Adrien nodded like a small child and watched as she bustled about, searching for a first-aid kit. She pulled out out from her bathroom cabinet and set it on her beside table.

"Take off your shirt."

"What?" he blushed. "You want me to take off my shirt? In front of you?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"You've seen me with my shirt off?" his face turned even redder.

Seeing him blush made Marinette blush as well. "Of -of course," she stuttered. "Um. T-the swimsuit campaign. Remember?"

He looked away, cheeks burning. He had done that campaign years ago. He didn't think she had seen it, much less remembered it. "Right. The swimsuit campaign."

"Now, d-do as I say!" she said, less sure of herself now. He obliged, and Marinette had to keep her face from combusting at the sight. 

Dragging a chair from her desk, she sat opposite him as he perched at the edge of the bed. 

She picked up a cotton ball and started cleansing his wound. She heard him hiss as the antiseptic stung his skin.

She glanced up apologetically. "Sorry, it's going to hurt even more, I'm afraid." He nodded. It couldn't be helped.

Marinette was very gentle but very precise. Adrien didn't know how she had learnt to do first aid so professionally but she was very good at it. 

The truth was that Marinette was so good at it because she had had endless opportunities to practice in herself, when she got hurt from the akuma battles.

He watched her as she worked, feeling a surge of emotion as she carefully and lovingly tended to him. He cared about her so much and he wondered if she cared about him equally. She must, if she was this concerned about him being injured, right?

He had never been shown this much love before. He didn't know what to think about it.

After a few minutes of bandaging his sides, Marinette bit her lip and inspected her work and finally nodded. "There. All better," she smiled.

Adrien couldn't help but look at her lovingly as she blinked at him with her wide bluebell eyes. "What?" she blushed.

"Nothing," he said quietly, keeping his eyes on her. "Thank you, Mari."

"No problem," she breathed.

Snapping out of his trance, Adrien started gathering his shirt. "I guess I'd better get going then."

"Are you crazy? You need to rest."

"It's late, I can't intrude on you further," he started but Marinette stayed firm.

"You silly kitty, you're not intruding. Stay," she laughed. "What will people think if you go around walking with a bloody shirt at night? They'd think you'd killed someone!"

Silly kitty. Only Ladybug had ever called him that. He softened at her words.

"Alright," he agreed.

"Good, I'll bring you something warm to eat." She ruffled his hair before she left the room, leaving him to wonder what he did to deserve such a miraculous person like Marinette.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the last chapter I'll upload today HAHA, got a bit caught up writing!

Adrien lay down on Marinette's bed. Her room was so different to the one she used to have. It used to be pink with all the little touches that made her room look exactly like how he pictured her personality. He even found a poster of himself once when he was snooping around once, but he wouldn't tell her that.

But her room now was bare, with all her things packed away in boxes. It was a little depressing.

He peeked into his jacket pocket and checked on his little kwami. Plagg grunted up at him, "Hey, do you think your girlfriend could spare me some camembert? I'm starving!"

"She's not my girlfriend," Adrien hissed.

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, like you're both not head over heels for each other. Ask her for some camembert anyway!"

"She doesn't like me that way... does she?" Adrien wondered, raising an eyebrow at his kwami.

"What do I look like to you, a magic eight ball? I just want cheese!"

"Alright, alright! I'll ask her for some, cheesus," he sighed, trying to shut his noisy kwami up. Plagg can be infuriating sometimes, but Adrien wondered if what he said was true. Did Marinette like him as much as he did?

He flopped down on her bed, cringing as the pain from his wound hit him. He shouldn't have done that.

But the more he thought about Marinette, the more his thoughts strayed to Ladybug. His Lady, whom he left to fend for herself for two years. He was still guilty about it. How could he have done that to her? He was supposed to be in love with her.

And he was! He had never met a person so brave and selfless and strong as Ladybug. He spent his first three years as Chat Noir pining after her, and yet every advance he made towards her was rejected. He was losing hope that his love would ever be reciprocated.

And then Marinette came along, showing him how it felt like to be shown genuine affection. Sure, they had a rocky start but they'd become friends in the end, hadn't they? He wasn't sure why he hadn't paid more attention to her more when they were younger but as they grew up, he started realizing how amazing and kind and -beautiful- she was...

As Chat, his Lady held his heart. But lately, Adrien's Princess had begun to creep into Chat's mind. He groaned. Why was this so complicated?

"Adrien? Are you alright?" came a soft voice from the doorway. Marinette walked in, carrying a tray of tomato soup and a toasty baguette. 

Adrien ran his hand through his hair. "I'm fine."

Marinette cocked her head sideways and shrugged, "Ok then. I brought you some dinner. You can eat it right here in bed. Do you need anything else?"

"Actually," he said sheepishly, "Do you happen to have some camembert?"

"Lemme check," she said, going to the kitchen. "It's your lucky day!" she called out from the kitchen. "I have a whole wedge!"

Plagg jumped up excitedly and Adrien had to hold him down before Marinette came back.

"I didn't know you liked camembert," she commented, placing the cheese on his tray.

"Oh, it's my favourite!" Adrien replied quickly. "I'll pay you back for this, of course."

"Don't be silly. We're friends. It's on the house," she winked. "If there's nothing else, I'll have my dinner too," she said, jerking her head towards the living room.

"Actually, do you mind eating with me?" he asked, scratching his jaw a little. "We could, you know... talk. Or something."

Marinette faltered for a second. "O-ok! Yeah. Let's do that. Talk."

"Ok," he said looking into her eyes.

"Ok," she whispered.

***

Marinette had her own tray laid out on the side table but she barely took a bite out of her food.

She was too absorbed in watching Adrien eat. He usually had perfect manners but tonight, he had managed to get crumbs on his cheek. She swiped them away with her thumb thoughtlessly but realized what she had done after his cheeks turned red and he froze.

"S-sorry, you had s-some breadcrumbs on your cheek!" she squeaked. She felt like her 15-year old self again, stammering in front of her crush.

Adrien said nothing as he brushed away at his cheek.

They sat in awkward silence for a while, both not knowing what to say.

Marinette gazed quietly at her friend before breaking the silence.

"Why did you leave, Adrien?"

He sighed. He knew he would have to answer that question sooner or later. He just didn't plan for it to happen now.

He felt Marinette's eyes still on him. He took a deep breath. "I wanted to find my mother. I found some things in my father's office that I thought were clues to where my mother could be. So I went to try and find her."

"Did you find her?" Marinette asked quietly.

"No," he admitted. "It was a wild goose chase. I spent two years travelling across France and still I found nothing. Pretty stupid of me, huh?" he laughed bitterly, picking up his tray and placing it on the table beside Marinette's.

She looked at him kindly, reaching out for his arm and squeezing it affectionately. "I may not understand what you went through but I know that if one of my parents went missing, I'd do whatever it takes..."

Her kind gesture gave him the courage to look at her for the first time since the conversation started. "I just didn't want to give up, you know? But she really is gone, I've accepted that now. And I want to be around the people I care about and l-love, w-who are still here for me! Instead of chasing after something that's lost."

He bit his lip. "After all," he continued, "I've already missed out on so much here in Paris. I missed out on Nino, Alya... and you." Marinette's fingers tightened around him again. 

"You never thought about coming back to us?" she asked, her bright eyes sparkling with curiosity in the dim light. She was listening intently.

"I did come back. Once. In the middle of my search. But then I saw you."

"You saw me?" she croaked.

"With our friends from college. And everyone looked so happy. And I thought that if I actually talked to everyone, then I wouldn't be able to leave you - and everyone else - again. And I wasn't done searching yet, at that time."

"But you're done now?" she asked, her small fingers curling around his palm.

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm back for good."

"And I was the first person you went to?"

"Well, technically, I called Nino," laughed Adrien. "And he told Alya. But you were the first person I wanted to see."

"Why?"

"I- I honestly don't know, Mari. I missed you a lot when I was gone."

"I missed you too." At this point, he realized that tears had started streaming down her cheeks and she swiped away at them, trying to stop them. But they kept flowing, and his heart broke, watching his Princess in tears because of him. 

He pulled her onto his lap, ignoring the pain in his torso, and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. She hugged him back, burying her head into his neck.

"You know," she sniffled. "You said goodbye to everyone else, but you never said goodbye to me."

He rested his jaw on her head. "I didn't know how. I'm sorry. I should have."

"I hate you, Adrien," she sobbed, hugging him tighter. 

"I know. I'm an idiot."

***

Marinette woke up in the middle of the night in Adrien's arms. The must have somehow fallen asleep after having their talk. She felt right in his embrace but she couldn't help worry about his wound.

Prying herself slowly out of his arms, so as not to wake him, she rolled away from his sleeping body and sat up on the bed.

She ran her fingers delicately over his bandages and thought about how he might have gotten such a wound.

And her mind clicked back to the akuma attack. And Chat Noir.

Chat had hurt himself in the exact same spot as Adrien did. Chat came back the exact same day as Adrien did. And Chat had said the exact same thing that Adrien had said to her.

Twice was a coincidence but three times was a pattern.

She studied Adrien as he slept. Adrien was a fencer, he could have developed his fighting skills there. Chat and Adrien were easily of the same body type and were around the same height. They had blonde hair and green eyes. And they both made her heart start racing when she was with them.

Could it be that they were one and the same?

She scanned Adrien's sleeping figure again, and something shimmery caught her eye. His ring! Chat had a ring too! Of course, that's where his Miraculous was!

Marinette started feeling lightheaded. She ran out of the room and collapsed into her chaise lounge. _'I'm an idiot! How could I have been so blind? Of course it was Adrien, he was always disappearing in high school, he was tired all the time. And of course Chat's green eyes made me weak in the knees, because they were_ Adrien's _eyes too!'_

And that's why Chat was always so protective of Marinette! Because he was _Adrien_!

But it suddenly dawned on her. Chat was in love with Ladybug. And if Adrien was Chat, then Adrien was in love in Ladybug and - "Not me."

"What?" came a small high-pitched voice. Tikki sleepily crawled out of the purse where she had been hiding. 

"Tikki," Marinette sighed. "I think Adrien is Chat Noir."

Tikki yawned lazily. "I think that makes sense."

"What!" she hissed. "Are you saying you knew all this time and you never told me??"

"Kwamis aren't supposed to talk about these things, Marinette. You know that."

"Well, I think I would have liked maybe a _teensy_ bit of a heads up if he happened to be THE LOVE OF MY LIFE SINCE HIGH SCHOOL, TIKKI," Marinette fumed.

"Sorry Marinette but these things are not part of my domain," shrugged the kwami before zipping back into the purse.

"Tikki! Don't you fly away from me!" Tikki ignored her. "URGH TIKKI!"

Marinette threw herself back onto the chaise, rubbing her temples. Part of her was exhilarated to know that her beloved Chat Noir was also her crush of five years. But part of her was devastated to know that Adrien couldn't possibly have feelings for her. Which was ridiculous, because he did! He had feelings for Ladybug, which technically _was_ her. But it wasn't the real her.

The real Marinette wasn't graceful and strong and confident. The real Marinette was stuttery, clumsy and couldn't even pay rent. She was a mess. No wonder Adrien was in love with Ladybug.

Marinette couldn't even compete with herself.

 

She sighed. It was stupid but she was jealous of herself. She didn't stand a chance against the perfect Ladybug. But she cared too much about Adrien and Chat, they were her best friends. The least she could do was keep him as a friend, even if she had to let go of her feelings for him. 

So many things were buzzing through her mind. She couldn't go back to sleep anymore, not in this state, not with _Chat Noir_ purring on her bed.

She would deal with him in the morning.

Now she had to get her mind off things.

Now she had to bake croissants.


	5. Chapter 5

"Bonjour, ma petite," Adrien mumbled happily as he stretched his arm across the bed. He expected to have his arm around Marinette but instead, his arm fell flat on the mattress.

He frowned. "Mari?" He could have sworn he was cuddling her to bed last night. He sat up with a jolt to an empty bed but an aroma of freshly baked bread wafting into the room.

He kicked away the sheets, eager to see his Marinette - wait, what? His? Not _his_ Marinette, just - _Marinette_.

Adrien stumbled out of the room, still half asleep, and made his way towards the kitchen. He ruffled his blonde hair as he beamed at her.

Marinette felt like her heart had stopped in her chest when she saw him. Sleepy Adrien was _so cute_ she could just _die_. How could anybody look this adorable in the morning?! She certainly didn't.

 _'No, Marinette, this is bad. You need to get over this, he is Chat Noir, you can't have feelings for Adrien. It's not right,'_ she chided herself.

Adrien leaned against the counter. "Bonjour, Marinette," he greeted groggily, his voice still raspy from sleep.

"Ahh, bonjour, mon minou," she giggled dreamily, until she realized that she had called him 'minou', a nickname she only reserved for Chat. Panicking, she started babbling. "UH - I MEANT BONJOUR! MORNING! ZAO AN! IS HOW YOU SAY GOOD MORNING IN THREE LANGUAGES! Ahaha, three times the greeting means three times the good - BETTER - your morning will be! Wow. Is it hot in here or what?" she said nervously, fanning her oven mitt in front of her face.

Adrien burst out laughing, cringing a little because his injury stung every time he laughed.

"Ahahaha, ha-ha, ha," Marinette faked-laughed unconvincingly. "Yes, I'm definitely trying to be funny here! I'm not just being a complete idiot," she mumbled the last part under her breath.

Adrien walked around the counter towards her. "My morning is already pretty great. I see three things that begin with C that I like," he smirked, in a very un-Adrien way. In fact, he was in Chat Noir mode right now, and Marinette could tell.

"Coffee..." He counted off with his fingers, stepping closer to Marinette with every item.

"Croissants..." He was standing right in front of her now. She couldn't bring herself to breath.

"And the last one is my favourite type of breakfast treat," he leaned into her ear.

_'Chat Noir.'_

" - Cutiepie."

Marinette felt her skin burn where his breath had tickled her ear. Her face turned the colour of a beetroot. She glared angrily at Adrien, who seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly.

"Princess, if I knew you'd be this fun to tease, I'd have done it years ago!" The mischievous Chat Noir smirk was still on his face and Marinette needed no further confirmation: Adrien was definitely her irritating, flirtatious, punny, catsuit-wearing partner.

Embarrassed by all the teasing, she crossed her arms and turned away from him. "Go and wash up for breakfast!" she ordered, her voice a little higher pitched than she had wanted it to be.

"As you wish," he laughed as he sauntered away. 

When he came back a few minutes later, Marinette was waiting for him in the balcony, having laid out the little table that was out there.

He was still smiling as he sat down in the chair opposite her. Her face had returned to a relatively normal color but she was still pouting at him from across the table.

"You're awful cheery today," she sulked. 

"Not everyday that I get to wake up to such a great view," he winked.

"Stop it."

"I meant the croissants fresh out of the oven."

"Oh."

"And also you," he smirked.

"I never knew you were such a flirt," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not. I'm just in a good mood today."

"How's the wound doing?" she asked, genuinely concerned. "Did the bandages come undone during the night?"

He took a bite of his croissant. "Relax, I'm fine, the bandages are fine. And these croissants are more than fine, they're amazing! You made them this morning?"

"Yup," Marinette said proudly. "Learnt everything from my parents."

"What time have you been up since?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, around 4 am," she shrugged. "Can't help it, I'm a baker's daughter." Technically it was true, but last night, it was thinking of Adrien and Chat Noir that had kept her up.

"So that's why you weren't in bed this morning," he muttered before catching himself. "I mean - not that I cared ahaha."

Marinette didn't seem to notice his blunder. She was too busy looking up at the sunrise. Hey big bluebell eyes were glossy and bright, reflecting the colours of the morning sky.

As he watched the morning rays wash over her, he took a sip of his coffee. It was black coffee, with no sugar. He took a peek at Marinette's cup and it was the palest cup of coffee he had ever seen, and probably super sweet too, which suited her. He knew she had a massive sweet tooth. She had made his coffee just the way he liked it, though. "Hey. You remembered how I liked my coffee."

"Of course," she replied, in between bites.

"And you made croissants."

"They're your favourite."

"You remembered?" his green eyes glimmered with hope as he looked at her, who seemed oblivious to him at that moment, which he didn't mind because it gave him more opportunities to watch her.

"I remember everything about you."

Adrien wasn't sure why but he felt a surge of happiness when he heard her say that. Nobody had ever made him feel like he was this special before.

"I'm gonna miss this," he heard her sigh. For a moment, he thought she was talking about _this_ \- what they were having right now - a peaceful moment together, with him. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when she continued, "This place. Watching the sunrise. I can't see the sunrise from the bakery, you know."

Hearing this, he remembered his offer from the day before and reached across the table, taking both of her hands in his. "I was being serious yesterday."

Marinette turned her attention away from the sky and to the messy-haired boy in front of her. "Adrien," she started, but he shook his head.

"Listen, Nathalie went out of way to secure me an apartment near here. It's huge, it's way too big for me to stay in alone."

"Then you ought to get a roommate," she sighed.

"What do you think I'm trying to do here?" he laughed. "It's fully furbished, but there's more than enough room if you want to take your personal furnishings in. There's two floors, I stay mostly in the lower level, so you wouldn't even have to see me if you didn't want to!"

"I couldn't possibly impose -"

"You wouldn't be! Like what you said, it's temporary, until you get back on your feet. Think of it as crashing on my couch instead of your parents' couch. Except I have a lot more unused space than just a couch. And it's much nearer to your university," he added.

She squeezed his hands gratefully but she still didn't know if it was such a good idea. Sure, she had only two days until she needed to move out, and her parents' house was really far away from her school... But seeing Adrien every day might be too much for her little heart to bear, not to mention trying to hide her identity as Ladybug from him.

She smiled kindly at him. "It's a very generous offer -"

"It's not, really," he interrupted. "It's actually very selfish of me to ask."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's just that... it gets really lonely sometimes, living in a big house by yourself," he said quietly.

Marinette remembered what his father's house was like. It was huge but it always felt empty and cold. She never liked visiting his house when they were in high school, and she suspected that his current home might have the same vibe, considering that it was picked out by Nathalie. 

She thought about how sad and lonely Adrien must have been all this time, which was why he had been so desperate to search for his mother. He just wanted a friend to keep him company. He couldn't stay with Nino for the same reason she couldn't stay with Alya.

Her poor little chaton... All alone. And what if he got hurt again? He'd have nobody to care for him.

"Alright. I'll move in with you," she said finally.

"Really?" Adrien perked up immediately, looking more like a puppy than a cat at this point. Marinette giggled. Why did he have to be so adorable?

"I'll have to move in two days though, just letting you know."

"No problem, I'll have everything ready for you by then," he grinned.

She smiled back at him. She loved seeing him happy more than anything.

An alarm clock went off in the distance and her eyes widened in dismay. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, it's Monday, isn't it?! I have class in fifteen minutes, I'm gonna be so late!" She jumped up from her chair and started rushing around the living room, gathering her things that she had somehow managed to scatter all over the apartment.

Pausing for a second, she glanced over at Adrien. "Will you be alright if I leave you alone here? I mean, I'm not trying to keep you prisoner or anything but you're still hurt and quite literally, that shirt is a bloody mess."

"I'll be fine, go for class. I'll be waiting right here when you come home," he smiled, leaning against the frame of the front door. 

"Ok! Um, help yourself to any food, I have extra toiletries under the bathroom sink for you to use and there's a spare key under the third potted plant out in the hallway," she rushed, feeling very flustered as she made toward the door.

"What, no goodbye kiss?" Adrien smirked at her.

 _'We only do insane 'hello' kisses, remember?'_ she thought.

But one look at Adrien's blushing face made her realize that she had definitely said it out loud. Feeling her own face turn pink, she rushed out the door and slammed it in his face.

What a morning that turned out to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I accidentally wrote another chapter ;-; I have an idea of how Adrien might find out about Ladybug's identity but I don't want it to happen just yet, so stay tuned :)
> 
> \- Anya <3


	6. Chapter 6

The moment the elevator shut on them, Tikki popped her little head out of Marinette's bag.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Marinette."

Marinette groaned, rubbing a knuckle against her throbbing head. "I don't know, Tikki, how am I supposed to know if anything I'm doing is right? He looked so happy, I couldn't say no!" she lamented to her spotted kwami.

"You never say no to anyone, Marinette," chirped Tikki, before hiding herself once more.

"I know, it's one of my many 'virtues', she moaned. She walked as quickly as she could to her campus. As she approached the building where her lecture was held, she saw two familiar figures waiting for her at the entrance. They waved at her enthusiastically, and as much as she loved them, she had a feeling this wasn't going to be pleasant for her.

"Gooooood morning, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng," drawled Alya with a knowing smile on her face. "Did someeeebody have an _interesting_ weekend?"

Marinette gave her a sour look before replying. "Good morning, Alya - and Nino," she added, turning to her male friend who was watching everything unfurl with a slightly amused look on his face. "My weekend was perfectly pleasant, thank you very much for asking." She walked past them, into the building and up the stairs, trying to avoid Alya's slew of questions.

"Did you manage to catch up with some _old friends_? Or did you do more than catch up?" Alya called out, trailing behind Marinette. 

Nino nodded alongside here. "Yeah, dude. Alya told me you guys were on the floor and all."

"Alya!" Marinette scoffed, screeching to a halt to glare at her bestie. "Did you have to tell Nino that?"

Alya shrugged nonchalantly. "He's my boyfriend, I tell him everything." But her eyes widened in anticipation again as she continued her interrogation. "You know who else you shouldn't keep secrets from? ME. Your bestie! So SPILL."

Marinette pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. "Nope. We have class now, and I'd like to concentrate, if you don't mind." She turned on her heel and entered the lecture hall, Alya grumbling as she followed.

For the next hour, Marinette's phone kept lighting up from the text messages she was getting.

**Alya: Marinette~~**

Marinette ignored it.

**Alya: MAAAAAARINETTE~**

**Alya: MARINETTE. MARINETTE. MARINETTE.**

"Oh my god, what _is_ it, Alya?!" Marinette finally snapped at her friend, who, even though they had been sitting side by side the entire lesson, had been doing the text equivalent of poking her every few minutes.

"Come o-n, the suspense is KILLING me! I need to know what happened between you and Adrien yesterday!" Alya whispered.

"Nothing happened!" That wasn't true, so many things happened that Alya didn't necessarily need to know about.

Alya suspected this was the case too. "Don't give me that crap, he was literally all over you."

"We fell," Marinette shrugged innocently. Well, it was _technically_ true. "I'm a klutz, remember?"

"Yes but _then_ what?" Alya asked eagerly.

_'Then we made out on the floor until YOU interrupted us.'_

"Then there was akuma attack and Adrien got hurt, so I let him stay at my apartment for the night to rest."

"WHAT!" Alya squealed, a little too loudly. Everyone turned to stare at her and she tried to cover herself. What were they studying about? Oh right, Roman empires. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT CAESAR WOULD DO THAT TO HIS OWN COUNTRY!"

Marinette covered her face in embarrassment. "I'll tell you the details over lunch, alright?" she hissed. At least this way, Alya wouldn't have any more outbursts in front of all their classmates.

***  
Nino joined the girls for lunch, as he usually did. "So Adrien got injured? Is my boy ok?" he asked worriedly.

Marinette nodded. "He's doing ok. I think he's still in pain though, he just doesn't show it. I tried my best with cleaning his wound but I'm still keeping an eye on him, just in case, you know?"

Alya and Nino exchanged knowing looks. "Damn, girl. You started liking him when you were, what, fifteen? And even after five years, you're still taking care of him like he's everything to you. If that's not true love, I don't know what is!"

"Alya...," Marinette sighed. "You know that's not the case. I can't start pining for him all over again. He doesn't think about me that way. I know he doesn't." She picked at her food sadly.

"I dunno, man," Nino piped up. "I think he might."

"What makes you think that?" asked his girlfriend.

"He always treats you kinda special. Back in high school, every time there was an akuma attack, he would always look for you - "

" - That's because Marinette was always getting captured - "

"- No, but even now. When he came back, he just called me and Alya but he went to _see_ you, Marinette. And I'm his best friend, but dude has never called _me_ 'Princess'," he added.

Her cheeks were beginning to flush a bright pink. She didn't want to get her hopes up again. It was exhausting enough to have hoped and hoped that something would happen between them when they were teens, she didn't want to wait forever.

At least Adrien loved her alter-ego. It was better than knowing that he didn't love her at all.

***

The sound of the key turning in the lock made Adrien's ears perk up. He bolted up from the chaise he had been sitting on a little too quickly, sending a sharp pain to his side. He cursed in pain, just as Marinette walked in through the front door.

"Oh no, are you alright?" Marinette rushed to side, dropping the bags she was carrying on the floor. She kneeled over him as he flopped down on his back onto the chaise again, eyes pressed shut.

He opened up one eye to look at her. "Give me a sec." He waited until the pain dissipated before grinning up at her again.

"Hi."

Marinette untensed herself. She didn't realize it before but she had been clutching Adrien's arm in worry, but she quickly released her grip and smiled back at him. "Hi."

She noticed that he had showered while she was gone but he was still wearing the same blood-stained shirt that he had on the day before. She reached out to the bags that she had dropped on the floor and set them in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"I got Nino to bring you some fresh sets of clothes," she explained, pulling out some t-shirts.

"Sets?" he asked, emphasizing the plurality.

"Uh - yes! Because I - I don't know if these are exactly the outfits you'd wear or - I mean - if you decided to stay another night -," she flailed, backing away from him.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, with a glint in his eyes.

 _'Say yes,'_ he thought to himself.

"Well, you _clearly_ haven't recovered, a-and rather than you being all alone at your place, I'd be more comfortable knowing that you'd be taken care of! Here. With... Me."

Adrien scratched at his chin, pretending to think about it. In reality, he wanted to jump up and agree, but he thought about it and jumping would only cause him to writhe in pain. Plus, he wanted to drag it out because he liked seeing Marinette nervous. Her shiny blue eyes went wide and she would fidget and he thought it was adorable.

After what he felt like an appropriate enough time to have made Marinette suffer, he finally smiled at her and chirped, "Ok!"

Marinette visibly calmed down. But not for long. She kicked herself for forgetting. It was patrol night! Now, after convincing Adrien to stay, she had to make up some excuse to leave him?? Ridiculous! 

Maybe she could go out on an early patrol tonight. An akuma attack had just happened yesterday, the likelihood of one happening tonight was slim.

Making up her mind, she quickly came up with an excuse. "I just remembered, I have to meet up with a friend to do a project tonight! So I'll be gone for a while, and I'll be back pretty late, so don't wait up!"

Adrien looked concerned. "Are you sure you don't need me to pick you up? It's pretty dangerous at night..."

"No, it's fine!" Marinette dismissed. "Um, my friend has a car! And she'll send me back. So don't worry about me!"

"Alright then," he relented.

Adrien changed out of his day-old clothes and the two of them decided to cook some chicken fillets for dinner, since Marinette still had time to spare before she left. 

Marinette insisted that he rest but not wanting to be left out, Adrien tried to busy himself by chopping vegetables and washing up. He wasn't too great at cooking himself, so he let Marinette take care of that part.

Every once in a while, they would catch each other's eye and both of them would break out into a stupid grin. The truth was that they had found a working rhythm and it felt natural, like they had been doing everything together for years. 

He complemented her and she complemented him.

It was almost like they were meant to be.

They had a pleasant dinner, watching silly internet videos on Marinette's laptop. Back in high school, she was always too awkward around him to really enjoy his company. But now, she felt comfortable being with him.

The spell was broken when she looked at the time and informed him that she needed to leave.

The moment Marinette was gone, Adrien felt a pang of loneliness again. He glanced at the time on his cell phone.

It wouldn't be long until Ladybug would begin her patrol. Maybe it was time for him to make a little visit to his old friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS. Guys. This chapter is juicy.

The view from the Eiffel Tower was her favourite. Being Ladybug had its perks, and one of them was being able to access any rooftop in Paris. Almost evey single one of them was beautiful, but nothing could beat the Tour d'Eiffel.

Up here, Ladybug could see everything. She liked how the wind blew cooly in her face and whipped her hair about. She was happy here.

She couldn't tell anybody about it, of course, but sometimes, she wished she didn't have to be Ladybug. Sure, she wanted helping people and she wouldn't give up her responsibilities for the world... But some nights, putting on the suit was hard. Some nights, she just wanted to be home with the people she loved, just like eveybody else.

It was tiring to be Ladybug. She had to lie to people all the time. _'For their own good,'_ she thought, the irony not lost on her.

If someone knew her identity, who she really was underneath her mask, maybe she wouldn't feel so alone. And she had to admit, ever since she found out her Chat's identity, the urge to just let him know that she was Marinette was becoming more overwhelming.

But she knew she couldn't. She couldn't bear it if anybody they cared about got hurt because Marinette and Adrien were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

She frowned as she watched her beautiful city sparkling before her, when suddenly she heard a soft thud of leather boots landing behind her.

Of course.

"My, Chaton, you haven't dropped in my patrols for a very long time," she quipped, not even needing to look at him to know who it was.

Chat Noir came to sit beside her, his legs dangling over the steel beams of the Eiffel Tower. "How'd you know it was me?"

Ladybug smiled. "I can smell your cattiness from a mile away."

Chat chuckled quietly. "And I thought I was supposed to be making cat puns, M'Lady."

Leaning back and facing him, Ladybug eyed the spot where he was wounded. "Why are you here, Chat Noir? You should be at home, resting."

"What are you talking about, I'm in paw-fect condition!" he said flippantly. 

_'That's a lie,'_ Ladybug thought.

"Did you see a doctor?" she tried asking, curious to see how he would respond, especially since she knew exactly what was going on.

The carefree smile was back on his face. "Of claws!"

_Lie._

"Barely a scratch."

_Lie._

"Doesn't even hurt anymore!"

_Lie._

She sighed. Typical Adrien behaviour. He never showed anybody when he was hurting. He was always smiling, always trying to make everyone happy. But she knew that he had suffered so much and it hurt her heart to think that he hid away all his pain.

Not wanting to push it further, Ladybug silently continued surveying the streets below.

Chat Noir sensed something was off. Ladybug wasn't usually this reserved. His Lady was always sprightly and full of energy (and sass) but she was awfully quiet tonight. She looked sad, almost.

He nudged her arm with his elbow and made a silly face at her. Ladybug supressed a laugh and nudged him back. Pleased that he had gotten a reaction, Chat put an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Bugaboo. Since we're here, why don't we _cat_ ch up?"

Ladybug gave him a pointed look. "I'm not the one who went missing for two years. You'll have to do all the catching up for me."

Chat exhaled. Cat puns didn't feel appropriate for this situation. "Right. I owe you. Where do I begin?"

"How about telling me where you went?" Ladybug suggested. She already knew the answer to the question but she felt like it would be odd for Ladybug not to be curious.

His face had grown slightly serious. "When I was younger - still a foolish kitten, I might say - I lost something that was extremely important to me. Something I loved. And a few years ago, I thought I had found something that could help me find that very important thing that I loved. So I left. I left Paris, I left everything that I knew and loved to try and find that thing." He paused, glancing at Ladybug, whose eyes were bright and round, hanging on to every word he said.

"I searched everywhere. Followed every clue. But everywhere I went, I came up with absolutely nothing. So I started to wonder if it were worth it, you know?" his voice cracking a little. At this point, Ladybug leaned into his shoulder and held his hand in hers, silently giving her support.

"After searching for so long, I couldn't find this thing that I loved so much. But then I realized that I had other things that I liked too. Back home."

"What kind of things?" she whispered.

"Things like this. Being Chat Noir. Patrols with you. My friends. I missed everything. So I came back." He lifted up her chin with his clawed fingers, his green eyes boring into her own. "Look, I'm so sorry that I left you on your own. I know it couldn't have been easy. I was a jerk. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry you couldn't find that important thing that you loved," she said quietly.

Chat brushed Ladybug's cheek with his thumb gently. "But don't you see? I did find something that I love." He pulled her face in closer to his, their skin only a breath away from each other. 

Her eyes trailed down to his lips, as his tongue peeked out to lick them. Ladybug's voice trembled as she asked, "What?" 

"You."

Before they knew it, the had closed the gap they had between each other, Ladybug's cold wind-blown lips crashing in against Chat Noir's warm ones.

Her gloved hand tangled into his blonde hair as they pulled each other closer, reveling in their kiss. 

As they drew apart for a breath, Chat Noir stared at Ladybug in shock. "M'Lady, you did't reject me?" he panted.

"No," Ladybug responded equally breathlessly.

"And I'm not being ferociously attacked by you right now?"

"Guess not."

"And I'm not in some kind of dream?"

"Nope."

"Well, I'll be darned," Chat muttered, floored by the revelation, before he pulled her in for another kiss. One hand was wrapped around her waist while the other was lost in her jet black hair. He liked how the strands slid against his fingers. He leaned in, deepening the kiss.

Ladybug's head felt like it was going to explode. This was the first time she had reciprocated Chat's advanced towards her, and the only reason why she allowed it to happen was because she knew that he was Adrien Agreste.

Her mind couldn't decide between focusing on the fact that she was kissing Chat Noir and it was amazing, or the fact that this was her _second time in two days_ locking lips with Adrien in the most inconvenient of places. 

As she felt his arms around her, she couldn't help but think to herself, _'I could get used to this._

But she couldn't. She couldn't let herself get used to it, because as much as she wanted to enjoy herself, she couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed that Ladybug was the person he chose to confess his love to. Not Marinette. 

The Marinette behind the mask was just using Chat as a way to fulfill her own fantasies of Adrien. And she knew it wasn't right. Breaking away from the kiss, she pushed him away gently and stood up, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chat. I - I have to go!" she stammered, before leaping off into the night, leaving a very confused Chat Noir by himself.

"Ladybug, wait!" he yelled out. But she was already gone. Frustrated, he kicked the steel beam with his boots. "Ugh! What did I do!"

One minute, his Lady was engrossed with his lips and another, she was running away from him. He didn't know what he did wrong but clearly it upset Ladybug.

At the same time, the guilt that he felt within him kept growing. He felt like a real lowlife for kissing two different girls two days in a row. He knew he was raised better than that. But he was so torn between his feelings for Ladybug and Marinette. 

He never had good luck with women, even though he was a famous model, but for some reason, he was lucky enough to have two ladies respond to him.

The problem was their eyes, he decided. When he looked at Ladybug, he saw Marinette. When he looked at Marinette, he saw Ladybug. And it was a neverending cycle of guilt and shame every time he felt something for either of them.

Exhausted, he decided to head back to Marinette's apartment, telling himself that he needed to keep it in his pants for one night and try not to make out with anybody else.

***

Ladybug crouched in the shadows a street away from her own apartment. This was the problem about having Chat Noir stay in her house. She had to time her entrances to make sure that he didn't find out. Right now, he wasn't back yet.

She hung back, waiting until she saw the familiar dark figure slink onto her balcony. Making sure that he was settled, she landed on the ground floor of her building before losing her transformation in an alleyway. 

She entered as Marinette again, making her way up the elevator.

Marinette opened the door to her apartment, and almost immediately crashed into the body of the man who was waiting for her.

For the second time tonight, she found herself in the arms of her long-time crush, staring up into his eyes.

"Welcome back," he breathed, still holding her.

"W-what were you doing behind the door?"

"Waiting for you," he said, a little raspily. "You look flushed."

"It was cold outside."

"Right."

"Right," she repeated, aware of his face getting closer to hers.

_'Not again.'_

Adrien didn't mean to but it was like deja vu. His eyes flickered to her lips and they were a little swollen, as if they had already been kissed, and he thought about how tempting they looked.

He musn't, he told himself. But he found himself leaning in anyway.

Just as their lips were about to brush against each other's, he felt Marinette's small fingers push away at his mouth.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes glassy, appearing almost sad. She didn't want him to kiss her right now. Not if the reason why he wanted to kiss her was because she reminded him of Ladybug. 

Immediately, as if he had been burned, he let go of her, taking a few steps backwards to give her space.

He struggled to find something to say but Marinette didn't give him a chance. "I'm taking a shower," she mumbled, before she locked herself in the bathroom for the next half an hour. 

Adrien sat on the bed listlessly waiting for her. First Ladybug was upset with him, and now he somehow made Marinette upset too.

"I thought I was on a good luck streak, Plagg. How did it end up with two furious ladies?" he lamented.

Plagg snickered. "Nobody asked you to stick your tongue down everybody's throats. Deal with it, loverboy."

"You're no help at all, Plagg," Adrien glared at his mischevous kwami. He threw him some camembert that he had bought in the day and let Plagg devour it in peace.

When Marinette finally came out of the bathroom, Adrien looked hopefully at her. "Do you wanna watch videos again?"

Marinette shook her head. "I think I'm just gonna go to sleep."

"Alright the ," he said, shifting to make space for her on the bed.

She frowned. "I'll sleep on the chaise tonight."

Now Adrien was upset. "What? I understand if you don't want to share with me but at least let me take the chaise. This is your bed. I'm just a guest."

Sighing, Marinette reached over to Adrien and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "That's sweet of you, but that's not going to be good for your injury. I just -" she shuffled her feet, "I need to be alone tonight."

"Ok," Adrien gave in dejectedly. "Goodnight, Princess."

"Goodnight."

With that, Marinette collapsed into her chaise lounge and covered herself up with a thick blanket and willed herself not to dream about the person in the next room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an entirely fluffy episode because I needed to get the move out of the way :3

The next morning was a little calmer than the previous days. Marinette was still feeling a little down, but that didn't stop her from making a delicious breakfast for both of them.

They ate crepes while watching the sunrise quietly. Adrien kept sneaking glances at Marinette and he knew that she was still spaced out and distant from what happned yesterday.

Which, he remembered, he wasn't even sure of what had happened. He had no idea why she was so upset with him, but he knew that he needed to cheer her up.

The moment Marinette said her goodbyes to him and left for university, he whipped out his phone and started making a very important phonecall:

"Hello, Nathalie? I need you to help me out with something."

***

When Marinette came home in the evening, her apartment had been cleaned out.

There were no boxes on floor, no furniture. Nothing. Just paint on the walls. Whoever it was had left her bone dry.

She felt herself starting to hyperventilate. "I've been robbed!" she moaned, throwing herself against the walls dramatically.

"No you haven't," came a voice from behind the kitchen counter, laughing at her antics.

"ADRIEN, THEY'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING," Marinette wailed, clutching onto his arms and pressing her forehead against his chest. "I have nothing left to my name," she sobbed.

Grabbing her by the shoulders with a chuckle, Adrien held her at arms length. "Nothing's been stolen, Princess. They've just been... moved."

"What are you talking about?" she sniffled, rubbing at her nose adorably.

Adrien smirked. His plan had been executed perfectly. Time for the reveal. "You know how you were supposed to move into my apartment tomorrow?" he asked, barely containing his excitement.

"Yeah?" she sulked.

"Well, I thought that moving in a day early wouldn't hurt!" he declared proudly.

"You took all my stuff away without asking?" she asked, her voice a little sharper now.

Adrien started to feel a little guilty. "Well. Yeah. Kind of?" He scratched the back of his neck, a habit that Marinette had noticed in Chat Noir when he was nervous.

"What if there were things that I didn't want you to see?" she seethed, crossing her arms at him, her eyes shooting daggers.

"Like what, a collection of posters of my modeling campaigns when we were in high school?" he mumbled under his breath. He actually did find that amongst her possessions, but once he realized what it was, he made sure to put it back where he had found it and pretend that he didn't see it. He left most of her boxes untouched after that.

Marinette's face burned with embarrassment. " _What?_ " she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Kidding! That was a joke!" he said quickly, a little too loudly to be convincing. Trying to change the subject, he turned her around on her heels and started shoving her into the hallway.

"C'mon, I'm driving you to the new place," he said cheerily.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. "You can drive?"

He scoffed. Framing his face with his hand in a very Chat Noir-like manner, he made a smug face. "Please. I'm a model, a science ace, fencer, pianist, basketball player AND I speak Chinese. Do you really think I can't drive?"

Marinette stuck out her tongue at him. Show off. 

Lacing their hands together, he swept her off into the hallway, barely giving her any time to think. With one final look, Marinette said goodby to her old home and happily ran off with Adrien to her new one.

***

The first thing she noticed in Adrien's apartment was that the ceilings were _very_ high. It was luxurious, with marble flooring and quartz countertops in the kitchen. She couldn't help but gape in awe.

"Wow, you could fit a runway in here," she remarked, her jaw wide open. "A fashion runway, not an airplane runway," she clarified. She was amazed at how Adrien managed to stay so kind and down to earth when he was used to such opulence in his daily life. It only made him more amazing to her.

"I've only just moved in myself, so forgive me if it's a little cold and impersonal," he informed her. But as much as he wanted to let Marinette take her time and make herself at home, he was impatient to show her what he had prepared.

"C'mon, c'mon," he urged her impatiently, "Let's go upstairs!" Marinette simply nodded and trailed after him, up the glass staircase that was surrounded by glass windows from floor to ceiling, making her feel like she was floating.

Once they arrived at the top of the stairs, Adrien stepped behind her and covered her eyes with his fingers. Marinette let out a little giggle. "Is this really necessary?" she laughed.

"Yes!" he cried, sounding like a little boy during Christmas. Except he was the one giving the present. "Are you ready?"

She nodded excitedly, his fingers cool against her skin. Taking that as his cue, he parted his fingers and revealed the space to Marinette.

And she was blown away. He had converted the entire second floor into her own personal living space. He had obviously used her old room at the bakery as inspiration, with dark wood beams across the ceiling.

The walls were painted in a light wash of pink, a more sophisticated, grown-up version of her favourite colour. The floors were decked in polished hardwood, with fluffy rugs piled on top of them.

But the thing that blew her away the most was that he had converted one corner of the space into her own personal design studio. He had fitted glass doors, creating a cube office for her, with a desk and her desktop computer, brand new dress forms, rolls of fabric and a whole wall plastered with her design sketches.

Marinette felt tears start to roll down her cheeks.  
"Adrien," she sobbed, punching him lightly on the arm repeatedly.

This was not the reaction that Adrien had wanted. "Oh my god, do you hate it? You hate it. I'm sorry, we can redo it, in whatever way you want it," he began, but Marinette had already pulled it into a tight hug, which shut him right up.

"It's perfect," she up smiled at him through watery eyes. "Everything I've ever dreamed of." He breathed a sigh if relief and thumbed the tears off from her cheeks.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Marinette asked, "How on earth did you manage to do this in two days?"

"Well," Adrien scratched his neck again. "I had a bit of help from Nathalie and a lot of construction workers and interior designers..."

"It's supposed to be temporary," she reminded him.

"Sure, but nobody said it didn't have to be absolutely amazing," he grinned. Wiggling his eyebrow at her, he remarked, "I really outdid myself this time, huh?"

Marinette laughed, "Indeed, Mr. Agreste. But there is no way that I'm not contributing to rent," she added.

"There's no way you CAN contribute to rent, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Because I already own this place. I.e.," he explained, "We live here rent-free."

Marinette gasped again. "Adrien. No."

His eyes twinkled mischievously. "Marinette. Yes"

"I can't, I _won't_ mooch off you like this, Adrien. If there is no way of earning my keep, then I will have to refuse your offer to move in," she warned, putting her foot down.

Adrien sighed. Why did Marinette have to be so difficult? After all he had done, he just wanted her to be happy and quietly surrender. But her fiery attitude was exactly what he liked about her. It wouldn't be Mari if she didn't put up a fight about what she believed in. He wracked his brains to find a way for him to convince her to stay.

"Feed me!" he decided. "I'm a terrible cook and you are an excellent one, plus you know how to bake. So how about you feed me so I don't die of starvation, and I'll let you stay?"

Marinette thought about it for a while, not entirely convinced by his proposal. It didn't really sound like a fair deal.

"Come on, Mari. We could eat breakfast in the balcony every morning. I'll miss doing that if you don't say yes." He shot her a puppy-dog face, pouting his lip a little, and her heart melted.

"Fine, it's a deal," she agreed.

Adrien whooped happily. "Pound it?" he offered up his fist.

Marinette blinked at it for a moment. This was a strictly Ladybug and Chat Noir thing, wasn't it?

She looked up at his expectant green eyes.

_'Oh, Adrien, your Chat Noir is showing.'_

Bumping her fist to his, she smiled. "Pound it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALL FLUFF AGAIN. I really like how they interact. I think it's because the show doesn't give us enough cute Adrinette sigh :(

Marinette was jolted awake by the sound of metal clanging together and a faint smell of burnt something in the air. 

She picked up her phone to check the time and it flashed 7:30am, much later than her usual waking-up time before sunrise. She wouldn't even have time to make breakfast today, she groaned inwardly.

Not knowing how she could have possibly slept through both her alarm _and_ the the racket coming from downstairs, she kicked off her sheets and made her way down to the unfamiliar kitchen.

To her surprise, she came face to face with a frustrated-looking Adrien in a dirty apron, furrowing his brows at a pile of burnt... muffins maybe? Probably muffins.

Adrien heard her footsteps as she entered the kitchen, and before she could wish him a good morning, he went off on a rant.

"Ok, so I knew you were tired from unpacking all your boxes last night, and since I didn't exactly have the opportunity to give you a home orientation tour or anything like that, I thought you would be pretty unfamiliar with the kitchen," he rambled, swinging a wooden stirring spoon in the air as he made animated hand gestures.

"So me, being the nice guy that I am, snuck into your room when you weren't looking and turned off your alarm, because I thought, 'Hey, why not let Mari, who must be really tired with class and baking me croissants and taking care of my wounds and putting up with me in general, sleep in for a bit?'" He was starting to get really worked up and Marinette tried her hardest to stifle a laugh.

His tirade continued. "And I also thought that I would make breakfast for the two of us for a change? Because, remember, I promised you that we would have breakfast together! But I forgot that I'm an idiot who can't bake for my life, and instead of blueberry muffins, I ended up almost destroying my oven! So I guess," he paused dramatically before slamming a box of cocoa puffs on the counter, "WE'RE HAVING CEREAL FOR BREAKFAST."

Marinette didn't reply. She was busy watching him being angry with himself. He had flour all over his apron - and a little bit on his nose; his cheeks were flushed; his blonde hair was ruffled messily on his head. And even as he stood in the middle of what looked less like a kitchen and more like the aftermath of a culinary explosion, she still thought that he looked pretty darn handsome.

Even then, she realized that there were many sides to Adrien. When they were younger, she used to think he was perfect. He was kind, supportive and helpful, good-looking and always smiling. He was also extremely smart. But as they grew older, she saw that he wasn't perfect at all.

He was terrible at talking about his feelings, and he hid away his emotions from everyone, even his closest friends. As Chat Noir, he may be suave and slick but he was a terrible flirt and his puns were _paw-ful_. As Adrien, well, he couldn't cook or bake to save his life. He was sometimes distant, and right now giving her a lot of mixed signals. 

Having only learnt about his identity as Chat Noir a few days ago, Marinette was still struggling to reconcile the fact that they weren't two separate people anymore. But the more she got to know both sides of Adrien, the more she understood why he was so different in both his personas. It would take a little more time for her to really get used to it, though.

Marinette had been staring absently at Adrien without answering for a while that she didn't even notice him calling out to her.

"Mari? Great, I broke her," he muttered, waving the spoon in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking," she said as she snapped out of the daze.

"About what?" Adrien asked with an inquisitive gaze.

"About how silly you look with flour on your nose," she laughed, flicking his apron playfully before wiping off the flour from his nose with a swipe of her thumb.

"You're not mad at me?" he looked at her sheepishly.

"Why would I be? If anything, I'm grateful. Lord knows I needed that extra hour and a half of sleep," she shrugged, reaching around him to grab ingredients off the shelf. She moved gracefully in the kitchen, hands moving quickly as she mixed up some eggs and milk in a bowl. "I don't have class today anyway and I _was_ planning on getting my portfolio done, but care to join me for a morning omelette anyway, my Valiant-Attempt Knight?" she joked, lifting his his chin with her finger.

Adrien liked how comfortable Marinette had become around him. He was starting to see what he was missing out on when they were in high school. He lifted her hand and gave it a quick kiss.

"The pleasure is mine, Princess."

***

It had only been an afternoon in her new studio-slash-office but she was enjoying working in it already. She wanted to break into a smile every time she thought about how much detail went into making the room suit her as possible.

Adrien may not have been aware of it but he must have paid attention to Marinette at least a little to be able to pull this off so well.

But everytime she started to get hopeful, she remembered the night when Chat Noir confessed his love for Ladybug and she fell back into her slump.

She blew out a puff of air in frustration. She was going nowhere, running around in circles in her own mind. It was best to just concentrate on her designs. After all, she had a job interview tomorrow and she wanted her designs to be perfect.

Beginning to get back into rhythm, she started humming to herself as she sketched. Suddenly, she heard a noise.

_Tap tap tap._

She swerved around on her chair and made eye contact with a sullen Adrien, knocking on the glass door with one hand and holding a laptop in the other. He was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants now, the most casual outfit she had seen him in since he came back, aside from pajamas of course. It was cute.

"Can I come in?" His voice was muffled through the glass but Marinette nodded and he came crashing on the small couch that was in the room.

He dropped a throw pillow over his face and sighed.

"Moody?" Marinette noted, half-smiling. She hooked her chin on the armrest of the sofa so that their faces were side-by-side and tugged at Adrien's hoodie strings. They reminded her of Chat Noir's bell. "What's wrong, silly kitty?"

"Am I disturbing you?" he asked sulkily.

"A little," she admitted.

"I'm sorry. This house is just so quiet sometimes, it's driving me crazy!" he sighed again. "But you're busy, so I'll go."

He started getting up to leave but Marinette reached out and pushed his shoulder back down, forcing him back onto the sofa. "No, stay. I could use the company," she smiled. "You were doing work?"

"Yeah," he ran his hand through his already-messy blonde hair. "Aside from modeling, I'm trying my hand at the management side of my dad's company. It's a lot of staring at a computer screen. I don't always have to go to the office so I sometimes stay in. My social life is pretty non-existent."

"Well, lucky for you, my social life doesn't exist either, so you better get comfortable. Looks like we'll be trapped here together _all day_ ," she mused, patting his head affectionately.

Adrien blushed at the contact but he obeyed anyway, settling himself comfortably on the couch while Marinette worked just an arm's length away at her desk.

Marinette watched as he went back to work and she felt bad for him. He hadn't even left the house to have fun since he came back!

An idea suddenly popped into her head. Reaching for her phone, she started texting Alya.

**Marinette: hey, are you and nino free tonight?**

**Alya: should be. What's up?**

**Marinette: i'm thinking of a welcome back party for adrien. Just the 4 of us.**

**Alya: for adrien? ;) i'm down, your best wingman never disappoints!**

**Marinette: alya >:(**

**Alya: okok, where at tho?**

**Marinette: meet us at my parents' bakery at 8?**

**Alya: sure thing ;) see ya**

After excusing herself to make a quick phonecall to her parents about her plans, she returned to the studio and got back to her designs, humming proudly to herself.

The room didn't feel lonely now, not with Adrien tapping away at his keyboard and Marinette's soft humming. He liked hearing her voice near him. It made him feel warm inside for some weird reason.

A few hours passed, with both of them engrossed in work but taking comfort in each other's presence, when Marinette suddenly found herself being wrapped by a pair of arms.

Adrien's standing frame leaned towards her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, the tips of his fingers just touching her collarbones. With a satisfied sound, he buried his cheek into her hair and slightly nuzzled her like a kitten.

Marinette felt all the blood rush to her head. She couldn't move from her spot. She merely sat there stiffly, not knowing what was happening and too nervous to enjoy it either.

"Don't mind me," Adrien mumbled into her hair, his eyes shut. "Just... needed a break."

Marinette nodded quietly, not being able to find her voice to reply. He'd been extremely clingy and cuddly since he came back.

 _'He's like a cat, even when he's not in his suit,'_ she thought, with a blush. _'I like it.'_

She felt him shift, loosening up his grip and letting his arms casually drape over her sides now. He let his head slide down to rest in the crook against her neck so that they were on the same level, and lazily opened his eyes to see what she had been working on.

"Pretty," he remarked, his voice coming from so close to her that she couldn't tell if he was talking about her sketches or about _her_. His head turned slightly and his lips brushed against her neck and she swore that if he came closer, he would be able to feel her pulse racing right now.

Marinette suddenly straightened up in her seat and pushed her sketchbook away roughly, causing Adrien to lurch backwards and trip. "O-ok, I think that's enough f-for now!" she screeched, as Adrien recovered from his almost-fall.

"Hahahaha, let's go for a walk!" she declared, her voice almost panicked. 

Adrien frowned a little. "Right now? But I'm in sweats -"

"Go change then!" she shooed him out of her studio and towards the stairs. "I'll see you downstairs in five!"

"But-"

"BYE," she cut him off.

Adrien, thoroughly bemused, shrugged back at her but decided it was best not to question it. 

When he left, she hunched over her desk with her hand resting against her heart, trying to calm herself down.

_'That was interesting.'_

She glanced at the time. It was a little early but she could distract him with a walk long enough before they would have to leave for the bakery.

Time to put her plan into action!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, chapter 10 already, I need to stop this >3

The pair shuffled down the paved streets awkwardly, Adrien with his hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets and Marinette looking everywhere else but at him.

"So," she said quietly. "How's your injury?"

"It's good, doesn't hurt as much anymore, thanks to you," he turned to face her, giving her a lopsided smile.

"That's great," she smiled back. But it quickly faltered. "Promise me not to do that again. Get hurt, I mean."

He looked away. "I can't guarantee that. Part of the job description."

"Where in the job description for model-slash-office boy does it say that there's a risk of injury?" she shot back with a pointed look.

"The part where it also says I'm a secret vigilante masked - but still extremely handsome - superhero," he replied, his green eyes gleaming at her in the dark and not a hint of humor in his tone.

Marinette stopped in her tracks. _'Did he just -'_

" _What?_ " she sputtered, staring back at him, not believing what he just said.

But a cheeky smile crept back into his face and he reached out and tapped her shoulder lightly with his fist.

"It's in the fine print," he said with a wink. "I'm kidding, Princess," he laughed, when Marinette frowned at him disapprovingly. "I'll try to be careful, ok?"

She nodded silently and they continued walking.

"But the thing is," he said quietly, "I'd gladly take a hit for someone I love."

_Ladybug._

"And who is this someone that you would take a hit for?" 

Adrien faltered, his mouth opening as if meaning to reply but he closed it again, pressing his lips into a grim line before kicking at the pebbles in the street.

Not wanting to upset him before the party, she decided to change the topic. "Hey, look! We're on the street of my parents' bakery!" she said, pointing to the street signs.

"Whoa, yeah, I didn't even realise where we were going," he nodded, looking around. "Man, I haven't been here in ages."

Marinette grabbed his hands excitedly. "Wanna pop by the bakery and say hi?"

"Sure, why not?" he replied.

"Ok, let's go!" she cried happily, breaking into a run, all while dragging poor Adrien along.

He squinted into the distance, trying to peer into the windows of the bakery. "Looks like they're doing something inside-" he started to say but he didn't have a chance to complete his sentence because Marinette had burst open the doors and four happy, beaming faces came cheering before him.

"WELCOME BACK, ADRIEN!" he heard them shout. Blinking in shock, he opened his eyes and saw Nino, Alya and Marinette's parents pulling him in for hugs, one after another.

He turned to Marinette, eyes wide with joy and she nodded excitedly, clapping her hands together with glee. "Surprise!" she grinned.

"Wha- you planned this for me?" he choked out.

"Yup, we thought you needed to have some fun!" she smiled.

"And we've missed you, bro," laughed Nino.

"We made you a cake," piped in Marinette's mother, Sabine. "Although I hope you don't mind, we won't be staying. Tom and I were heading out for a date but we thought we'd stay to say hello, dear."

"Thank you so much," he effused, feeling very emotional all of a sudden. Even his own father had never once thrown him a party. And Marinette's parents were kind enough to go so far as to bake him a cake. He was touched.

"I hope you have fun, my boy," Tom chuckled heartily and patted him on the back. "We'll leave it to Mari from here."

"Thanks dad, have fun on your date!" Marinette waved as they left.

All the attention turned back to Adrien as his friends chattered elatedly around him.

"Dude, I haven't seen you in ages -"

"So you stopped by at Marinette's huh-"

"Anybody want some cake-"

"Guys, guys, hold up," he laughed. "I'm so happy to see you." He pulled all three of them into a tight squeeze. "I can't believe you did all this for me."

Marinette gave Alya a thumbs up sign; their plan had gone off without a hitch.

The four of them sat around the table and caught up with their lives while having slices of cake and pizza. 

Alya interrogated him over what happened at Marinette's apartment, which he replied with an innocent look and said, "Nothing," prompting Alya to shoot Marinette a dirty glare and Marinette smugly declaring that she had "told her so".

They worried over his injury and he described the akuma attack to them, purposely omitting the parts where he was Chat Noir.

Nino talked about his new DJ gigs - "Dude, you've got to come watch me spin sometime" - and Adrien talked about his adventures across France.

They hadn't sat down together and enjoyed each other's company like this in a while and the atmosphere was a warm and loving one.

As the conversation died down and they were buzzing with quiet contentment, he couldn't help but smile at his best friends. "You guys are the best."

"Aww," said Alya, wiping a faux tear off her cheek. "We love you, ya lil sneaky pretty boy." She nudged Marinette. " _Some of us more than others,_ " she said under her breath, raising a suspicious eyebrow at her bestie.

Marinette gave her a warning glare and slapped her on the arm softly.

"Ouch," Alya winced, rubbing her arm. "Fine, be that way."

As the night wore on, they decided to part ways, but not before making plans with each other. "So  
Ultimate Mecha Strike next week, bro?" asked Nino.

"You betcha, man," Adrien confimed, giving his best friend a fist bump. 

"Sweet. Alya and I are gonna take off then. See you guys soon!" he waved before leaving.

There was a slice of cake left. Adrien eyed it for a while before asking Marinette if he could put it in a box. "I'd like to give it to someone," he confessed, scratching the back of his neck. "Tonight."

Marinette looked at him in confusion. Tonight? Was he meeting someone? But it suddenly clicked in her mind. It was Chat Noir and Ladybug's patrol night. He was bringing the cake to _her_.

"Of course," she said, immediately packing it nicely into a to-go box. "I take it you're not coming home yet?"

"I have to be somewhere but I'll be back later," he answered. "But I can walk you back first if you want!" he added quickly, remembering that it was late.

Marinette shook her head. "It's fine, I'm going to clean up here and then get a cab. You go ahead. I'll see you soon."

Sooner than he thought.

"Ok!" he said happily, holding the door open, ready to leave. But as he was halfway out, he turned around and rushed back inside to give Marinette a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks for planning everything," he gushed. "You're amazing, Marinette." And with a final smile, he left the bakery, leaving Marinette stunned with her fingers touching the spot where he had kissed her.

***

Adrien made sure to walk a few blocks away before ducking into an alleyway. "Plagg, claws out!" he said, transforming himself into his leather-clad alter ego.

Extending his baton, he propelled himself up onto the rooftops and started hopping from building to building.

"No sign of Ladybug yet," he said to himself. "And no akumas either. Looks like a slow night."

Finding himself with nothing much to do, he leaped over to one of the taller buildings in the area and stationed himself there, keeping an eye out for danger, as well as his Lady.

From a distance, he saw her slim figure slinking closer to where he was and he broke into a wide grin.

"Look what the cat finally dragged in," he smirked, immediately taking her hand and placing a chaste kiss upon it. After what happened the last time they were in patrol, he didn't dare do go further than that.

"Sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing much, pretty quiet night," he yawned. Reaching behind him, he picked up the cake box and held it before her. "I brought you a treat. Especially _fur_ you, M'Lady."

"What's the occasion, Chaton?" Ladybug asked as she accepted the cake. "Is it your birthday?" she pretended to wonder.

"Just a small party with my friends," he stated with a happy grin. "It was paw-sitively claw-some!"

Ladybug smiled. She was glad the party had made him so happy. "Thanks for remembering me. I'll let you in on a secret," she lowered her voice, "I have a massive sweet tooth." She took a bite out of the cake. Thank goodness she only had one slice during the party. She would be too full to eat another otherwise.

"Ooooh, care to divulge any more hints?" purred Chat, raising his eyebrows hopefully and leaning in towards her face. "Perhaps I'll be able to find out who you are."

"No can do, Tomcat," she maintained, pushing him away with one finger. "That's all you're getting out of me."

"Meowch, you wound me," he pouted, sitting crossed-legged beside her. He watched her eat the slice of cake. Now he knew she had a sweet tooth.

 _'Just like Marinette,'_ he remembered. He started wondering how else his Lady must be like in real life.

Did Ladybug like fashion? Girls generally liked fashion, right? Marinette liked fashion.

Did Ladybug go to school? Maybe she was in the same university as Marinette!

What was Ladybug's favourite colour? He knew Marinette's was pink.

 _'What are you talking about, Chat? Stop comparing her to Marinette, Ladybug is not going to be the same as Marinette, because she isn't her,'_ he scolded himself in his mind.

He didn't know what to do about his feelings for both of them. But he knew he DID have feelings for both of them. He also knew he felt gross for it.

"I wish I knew who you really were," he whispered.

Ladybug sighed. "You and I both know that's not a good idea, Chaton."

"But I can protect you, I know I can."

She wished she could tell her that she knew who he was and she wished he knew who she was too. But she had her doubts. Chat had been akumatised before, what if he ends up getting them both in trouble?

And what if... "What if you don't like me, Chat?"

"Of course I would like you, you're my Ladybug!" he cried, denying her ridiculous assumption.

"But I'm not, you see! The real me is not Ladybug! What if you see who I really am and you're... Disappointed?" she hung her head. "You love me now but will you love me when I'm not Ladybug?"

Chat didn't reply. He knew in his heart that he loved her but even so, Marinette's image kept crossing his mind and suddenly he wasn't so sure anymore.

Chat Noir could never go on dates out in the open with Ladybug. He would never be able to be just Adrien around her. He couldn't go out to the movies, he couldn't take her on a trip. He couldn't touch her, he wouldn't even be able to see her face without a mask on.

"See, Chat? Even now, you're hesitating. You don't know if you can," she said quietly.

Chat shook his head violently. "That's not true -"

But Ladybug held a hand up, telling him to stop. "It is. You know it is." She looked around at the streets below her. "Listen, how about we call it a night? I don't think Hawkmoth will be sending out any akumas any time soon."

"You're right. Better _paws_ for the night then," he said halfheartedly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I swear, if you don't hurt yourself during an akuma attack, I will hurt you first. Bug out!" she called as she swung away on her yo-yo.

Chat Noir sighed. She didn't know it but she had already hurt him enough.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeww, lot of comments on the last chapter! I read everything and it was really interesting to see how eveyone looked at Adrinette's relationship. I got kind of inspired by some of the comments so I mixed up the ideas with the ones that I already had planned in my head :3 the fluff and angst tag is true af in this one
> 
> \- Anya

"Oh my god, Tikki, I think I broke him," Marinette whispered. She was crouching behind the kitchen counter, eyes peeking over, pretending to be rearranging the dishes. But in reality, she was spying on her housemate.

Adrien had been moping around all day. He had tried to put up a happy front for her in the morning but she knew that it was just him giving his 'model smile', the one that he used for photoshoots and press events, not his genuine smile.

"He's been sitting on the couch in his pajamas all day, watching sitcoms reruns. But he hasn't laughed _once_ , Tikki! Not once!," she hissed. "And you know how much that boy likes his cheesy puns. What have I done?" She groaned, burying her head in her hands and collapsing against the door of the dishwasher.

"You were pretty hard on him last night, Marinette," Tikki chided. "I think you've upset him more than you know."

Marinette sighed. "But I didn't mean to! I wanted him to be happy with the party! But Ladybug had to go on and mess everything up!" she growled in frustration.

"Ladybug?" Tikki raised a tiny eyebrow. "Or Marinette?"

 _'Tikki looks innocent but she's one sassy kwami.'_

"Ok, fine," she sulked, brushing her hair away from her eyes. "It was Marinette's stupid brain that ruined it. I always ruin everything. It's like his feelings were a plate and my dumb clutzy self had to go and drop it."

"Do you love Chat Noir?"

"Of course I do, Tikki," she sighed with exasperation.

"So why can't you tell him?" Tikki asked, tilting her little head at her.

"Because!" she cried. She gestured wildly towards the couch. " _He's Adrien!_ And Adrien doesn't like me like that, he's had five years to think about it and _Marinette is still nothing to him_."

"Marinette, you're right. Chat Noir is Adrien. But Adrien is also Chat Noir, and Chat Noir loves you. So why do you keep thinking that Adrien won't?"

Marinette was taken aback by her kwami's logic. She had never thought about it that way. She had always been so busy thinking the reverse that she never even gave him a chance to prove himself. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"You need to make things right with him, Marinette. Ladybug and Chat Noir are stronger as a team. And right now, both of you are not working together," Tikki advised.

"You're right," Marinette finally admitted. "I need to do something."

"Marinette? Are you talking to me?" came a voice that was definitely not Tikki's. Gasping, Marinette surged up with a start, banging her head on one of the cabinet doors overhead.

"Ow!" she cried out in pain, rubbing the top of her head.

"Whoa, are you ok! I didn't mean to startle you, but I heard voices - "Adrien apologized but Marinette shooed him back to the living room.

"I'm fine! I'm a Grade A Human Hazard, remember? I'm used to it," she half-winced, half-smiled, still clutching the top of her head.

She sat down on the couch beside him.

"Listen," she began, as the throbbing subsided. "I need to ask you a question - uh, for a friend!" she added quickly.

"Ok?, he replied, leaning forward on the couch interestedly.

"If someone has - f-feelings - for this g-guy," she stammered, her hands starting to feel a little clammy from the nerves. "And he's a really, really, _really_ great guy, who's charming and kind and sweet and funny -"

"Sounds a lot like me," Adrien joked, which Marinette did not, at that moment, find funny at all because she was indeed describing him.

"- Hahahaha he does! That's sooo weeeird, because he's deeeeeefinitely NOT you!" she laughed stiffly. "But anyway, he likes this someone A LOT, and she knows it. But HE doesn't know that she likes him back -"

"Then she should just tell him, shouldn't she? I really don't see the problem here," he shrugged, narrowing his eyes. But Marinette shook her head in frustration.

"But that's the problem! Let's say for some strange, undisclosed reasons - like, legitimate reasons - like, Mercury in retrograde kind of reasons," she sniffed, trying to hide her anxiety. "They could never work out -"

"- Do you think that it would be a good idea to even let him know that she likes him?"

Adrien stared at her in quiet contemplation for a few seconds. His green eyes bored into her wide and nervous blue ones, before he finally said flatly, "Your love life sounds extremely complicated."

"IT'S NOT MY LOVE LIFE," Marinette cried out a bit too quickly and too loudly. "It's hypothetical," she moaned lamely.

"Well," Adrien leaned back, his arm around the back of his head, "If you're asking me seriously, I think she should tell him."

"Really?" she whispered, her eyes round with anticipation. Her hand reached out to touch his knee. "You really think she should tell him?"

"Marinette, I'm not, by any means, a love expert," he sighed. "But as a guy, I know how much courage it takes to tell someone that I love them... And the fact that he told her shows that he means it."

He felt her grip tighten around his knee and he felt slightly sick, like he needed to look away from her because seeing her face would only doublenhis guilt. "I think that if people truly loved each other, they shouldn't waste time with hiding their feelings."

He concluded in a quiet voice: "They should love each other with whatever chance they've got."

With a determined nod, Marinette leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Adrien, you're the best," she smiled, before running off upstairs into her bedroom.

Adrien stared after her, eyebrows furrowed in a confused manner. He scratched his cheek and mumbled, "You're welcome. I think."

He somehow felt even worse than before now.

***

"I'm gonna tell him. I'm gonna tell him, I AM _GOING_ TO TELL HIM!" Ladybug repeated, trying to psych herself up. She paced restlessly on the roof of the Louvre. She had intentionally selected a national monument as the location to match how monumental this task felt like. She also wanted to slap herself in the face from the nerves.

"Tell me what, M'Lady?" Chat Noir enquired, raising an eyebrow. He was catapulting himself to where she was waiting. Chat stuck the landing perfectly and padded across the roof to meet her.

"Tell you that your... shoes are untied!" she laughed nervously. Waving a hand over her face, she shook her head. "Just kidding, you wear boots, I knew that, it was a joke!" 

Chat blinked at her curiously. "Sorry, Bugaboo, what that was worse than any of my puns."

"I know," she groaned. _'Keep it together, Ladybug, you're on a mission!'_

She glanced over at Chat, who was being a lot more quiet than he usually was. "What's wrong, Chaton? Cat got your tongue?" 

Chat smiled weakly. His ears were droopy and sad-looking. "Not really in the mood for puns tonight, if I'm being honest. You're welcome to make them on my behalf, though." 

Ladybug's heart sank. He must be really upset to not have made a single pun. He lived for puns. 

She took a deep, deep breath. "Chat? Remember the conversation we had the other night?" 

His ears automatically perked up. "Yes?" he replied hopefully. 

"Well, I have something to tell you," she cringed. Her heart started to race and she felt sweat building on her brow. 

"What is it?" His eyes were wide with anticipation. 

"I was too harsh on you -"

"Yes?" 

"- and I think the reason why I did it was because I was scared, and insecure, and I was trying to hide my own feelings -" 

"Uh-huh." 

"- and my feelings... my feelings are that -" She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip as hard as she could, unable to continue. She felt Chat's hands on her shoulders, pulling her closer, and she buried her head in his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

"I think I like you, Chat. A lot." Her voice was so quiet that it came out almost as a whisper. 

When it was met with silence, she gently opened her eyes and turned her head up to look at him. "Chat?" she whispered, he voice trembling. 

But Chat only looked at her with loving eyes, shining as bright as the moon above them. He pressed his nose against her and smiled. 

"I like you too, Ladybug. A lot," he laughed, before pulling her in for a kiss. 

It was a soft kiss, gentler than the one that theh had shared before. The first kiss was urgent and angst-fuelled, driven by the gap of two years of not seeing each other. 

This one was different. It was comfortable. It was innocent. It was love. 

Chat tightened his grip on Ladybug's waist and pulled her in for a deeper kiss, brushing his tongue against her lower lip, causing her to shudder. 

For the next few minutes, Marinette forgot that the person she was kissing was Adrien, the perfect unattainable boy that she had had a massive crush on for five years, who had never once asked her out on a date. 

For the next few minutes, she was only kissing Adrien: her loyal, brave and unwavering partner of five years; the one who had remembered her favourite color; the one who had kissed her senseless on her apartment floor. 

They broke away to take a breath and they exchanged a glance. Chat smiled a brushed away a loose strand of hair from her face. 

"I hope every single patrol from now on is going to be like this," he breathed, his eyes full of nothing but care for her. 

"I love you."

And then it all came crashing down. 

This time, it was love that broke her. 

Feeling tears start to pool in her eyes, she shoved him away and turned away from him. 

She was doing it again - chickening out halfway - and she hated herself for it. But for all the good luck that she was supposed to have, it appeared that she couldn't have a single good moment with Chat without having her insecurities about being Ladybug drag her down. 

"Chat, I can't -" she sobbed, her hands flying up to cover her face. "I can't do this."

It wasn't Adrien anymore. She understood now that no matter what, it would always be Adrien behind the mask, and she believed that he would always like her, regardless of whether she was Marinette or Ladybug.

It was Ladybug and Chat Noir, together. It would never be anything more than a temporary solution. Whatever ended up happening to them, this relationship would always, _always_ have to end. Without a shadow of a doubt, unless somehow they discovered their real identities, they would never last. It was just impossible to keep up a relationship where they couldn't even tell each other their names.

And if they never did, if Ladybug and Chat Noir never found out who they really were and continued with their masked trysts, then there was absolutely no chance of Marinette and Adrien ever happening.

She started backing away from him but Chat grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back to him.

"No!" he cried, his voice sharp and angry now. His eyes that were so full of love one moment ago were now brimming with hurt all over again. 

"No," he repeated, his voice shaking with fury. "You can't keep doing this, Ladybug! You can't lead me on one moment and run away from me the next!" 

"Chat -" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face now. 

"Every single time I think we've taken a step forward, you keep taking ten steps back! It's not doing anything to help this, Ladybug, I'm sick of it!" he fumed, gripping on to her with both arms now. "I'm not doing this again, I'm not!" 

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "But it's just too difficult, Chat. It's never going to work!" She pushed away his hands and turned away from him. 

Chat felt his own tears threatening to spill. He blocked her path, forcing her to face him again. 

"I don't understand, why do you keep saying that?!" 

"What, do you want me to give you a list of reasons?!" Ladybug cried out angrily. 

"Well, yes, if you would kindly oblige me, _M'Lady_ , I would LOVE to know!" he spat back, matching her tone. There was no affection in his voice, there was only frustration. 

" _First of all,_ " she hissed. "We have _responsibilities_ , Chat! We have duties as Ladybug and Chat Noir, _we're not just traipsing around in magical spandex_ for _nothing_! We're here to protect people, not suck each other's faces off! If this - whatever this is - happens, you said so yourself; every patrol is going to be like this, we'd either be locking lips or having a lover's spat on top of the freaking Louvre!"

"You think I won't be able to keep it in my pants for two seconds to do my job?! How little faith do you have in me?!" he glared angrily at her.

" _Second_ ," she continued, ignoring him. "How do you think this is going to work?! We don't have a life outside of these suits with each other! What are we going to do, go on a picnic in our suits?! Sunday bloody _tennis_ in our suits?! _You don't even know my name, Chat_. That's not a relationship, that's a farce!"

"So _tell_ me your name!" he said, exasperated. He reached out and clasped her hands in his. "And I'll tell you mine," his voice softer and more gentle now. "And we can put everything behind us and be happy. Together." His tone was pleading, almost desperate. And it made Ladybug's heart melt to the floor.

"As tempting as that sounds, you know why I can't do that, Chat," she sobbed. "I can't just tell you. It isn't right."

"Then - then give me a clue!" he cried, slightly frantic now. "And I'll find you! I'll find you by accident and it wouldn't be anybody's fault! And you wouldn't have to tell me! It'll be fair game for both of us!"

"And then what? You figure out who I am and realize that Ladybug is only one part of a whole entire person you don't even know?"

"What, do you not think you're good enough as you are?" Chat asked softly, wiping away her tears.

"No!" she shook her head violently. "It's not that! I know I'm not perfect, I'm just a regular flawed human being, just like I know you are. But I know you, enough to trust that you'll be able to accept me for who I am, without the mask or the magic."

"Then trust me to."

"I do! I trust you to like me as I am. I just -" she trembled. "I just don't know if you'd _love_ me."

She yanked her hands out of his grasp and scrambled away from him from him again, creating a greater distance between them. She was afraid that if he touched her again, she would be sucked right back in.

"I've been wracking my brains and I honestly can't see how this will ever work between us."

Upset, Chat himself backed away from her, a wounded expression etched on his face. "Do we really have to think about all this? Can't I just love you?" he asked pleadingly.

Ladybug shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Chat. I'm not sorry for telling you how I feel, but I'm sorry that that had to be the end of it."

Chat refused to look at her anymore. If he did, he felt like he might ignite. "So that's it then? You tell me you like me and now you're running away?"

"Would you rather have not known?!" she cried. 

But Chat refused to give an answer. He was ready to leave. 

"I just don't want us to get hurt in the end."

With a final glare, he extended his baton.

"I don't think it could hurt worse than this."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the late update! At first, I was really busy and I wanted to really think about how I wanted the story to go.
> 
> Then I wrote a chapter that i was REALLY PROUD OF, but I FORGOT TO CLICK SAVE FML ;-; And then I got logged out of the site and when I came back, everything was gone ;-; and i was like 'damn, son, y u gotta do dis'.
> 
> So now i gotta rewrite everything. Hope it's as good :/
> 
> UPDATE: AND THEN HALF THE CHAPTER GOT DELETED AGAIN FOR SOME REASON?? Even after i saved it?? I AM SO MAD. It's like it doesn't want to be written  
> >:(  
> \- Anya

_'No matter what I say,'_

Parisian buildings whizzed past her in a blur.

_'Or do,'_

Her feet narrowly missed their edges when she lands.

 _'Or think or_ feel _,'_

The wind rushed icily across her face, drying away the remainder of her tears, leaving damp, sticky streak where they once were.

_'I still end up hurting him.'_

Marinette came to a stop abruptly. She blinked confusedly before realizing that she was standing directly on the ledge of her bedroom window. She had somehow managed to arrive back home without having a single memory of how she had returned, but she didn't care how.

She ducked into the room, losing her transformation the moment her heels made contact with the carpet. She couldn't wait to get rid of the suit.

She was tired of Ladybug. Ladybug was brave enough to fight of an army of akumas head on, without batting an eyelid. But when it came to love, she was a coward. How stupid. She wanted to be Marinette again.

Because Adrien didn't hate Marinette.

Mentally and physically exhausted from the night's events, she collapsed onto the floor, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to reappear. Inhaling deeply, she managed to choke them back, but it made no difference anyway; the damage had been done and it still felt vile.

She lay down and stared at the ceiling, full of regret but not having the energy to do anything about it.

A small click from the turning of a lock was heard from downstairs, followed by the sound of the front door creaking open and the shuffling of footsteps.

Marinette held the air in her lungs, almost too afraid to breathe. She couldn't face Adrien now, not after what had just happened.

But the dead silence of what seemed like a very long time after she heard him enter worried her, and she was compelled to at least check on him to see if he was doing alright.

Her limbs felt heavy as lead but she dragged herself out anyway, peeking over the railing of the stairs so that she had a good view of the first floor of the apartment.

But the sight that greeted her destroyed her more than anything had ever done before.

Adrien, with his white button-up shirt sleeves rolled up midway, was hunched over the dining table, his elbows bent and supporting the weight of his trembling body.

And he was _crying_.

There was a particular devastating quality to seeing a grown man cry.

Marinette had never experienced it before, but it had to be ten times worse right now, due to the fact that the man who was in tears right now was _Adrien_ , whom she had been in love with for the longest time, and that he was crying because of _her_.

His tears were private and silent, only being interrupted by the occasional sniff or two. She had never seen him appear this vulnerable before. At that moment, he almost seemed small.

She wasn't aware of having moved at all but she somehow found herself at the foot of the stairs, her feet stepping soundlessly in his direction.

When he realized her presence, she froze on the spot, her lips parted as if to say something but with no words coming out.

All of a sudden, it felt like time had slowed.

His head jerked up and his eyes widened in horror. His shaking hands rose immediately to his face, swiping wildly at his cheeks in an unsuccessful attempt at erasing away the evidence of his tears.

"T-this isn't, I-I wasn't!" he began to explain, his lips trembling so badly that it took him a while to even get the words out. But one look at the girl standing before him and his denial crumbled, the same way he was finding himself crumbling.

Right into Marinette's arms.

She was too stunned and too horrified to hug him back at first. The taste of her own guilt hit the back of her throat like bile. How dare she. She had broken his heart and now she had the _nerve_ to comfort him?!

But as he tightened his grip and sobbed pleadingly into her shoulder, she felt like she needed to. If only just to make it more bearable for him. It was the least she could do.

As they hung on to each other for dear life, she began to feel her own tears join his, soaking through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice shaky. "I'm so, so sorry."

Adrien didn't respond. He only pulled her in tighter, as if loosening his grip on Marinette would somehow cause her to drift away from him too. He had already lost two women who were important to him. He refused to lose another.

He felt like an idiot for letting someone get to him this badly. He almost never cried, and certainly he had never done so in front of another person.

It was ironic; his job was literally to portray perfection, yet here he was, slobbering pathetically into the shoulder of a girl.

He didn't know how long these feelings would last. He didn't know if he would ever be able to get over his love for Ladybug.

But he knew one thing.

He needed to hold someone right now.

And he needed someone to hold him back.

***

Adrien never did give Marinette a reason for his tears. Neither, he realized, did he ever question why she had apologized to him that night.

But he knew that something about that moment had changed something between them. Their relationship now was... different.

They only really saw each other for a few minutes every evening, when both he and Marinette had returned home from school, or work, or whatever it was that kept them out during the day.

He would always be eager to speak to her and joke around the way they used to, but they would only exchange a few words before she would excuse herself to go to her room for the rest of the night, leaving him a little disappointed. And lonely.

He sighed, hands on his hips, as he looked at the plate of food before him. For the fourth morning in a row, she had left him a fully cooked breakfast with all his favourite treats.

But once again, same as the other three mornings, he found that she was gone from the house by the time he had awakened.

All that was left of her presence was a little handwritten note on baby pink paper. This morning, it read:

_"Good morning, Adrien! I hope you have a wonderful day ahead! Eat this and gather your energy! xx Love, Mari"_

He pulled his lips back into a thin frown as he stared at the note and reread it.

"Weird," he muttered to himself.

Was she avoiding him? It seemed like it. But why? Had he done something to upset her? Did seeing him cry freak her out so much? But she was still being nice to him, so maybe she's just busy?

His thoughts carried over with him through breakfast, and as he ate, he began to reminisce about his relationship with Marinette over the course of the years.

When they were 15, they were friends _-ish_ , but they had not been close to each other. Marinette was always strange around him, stuttering and not making eye contact. He had found it off-putting at first.

But as he spent more time with her, after he had joined the foursome with Alya, Nino, Marinette and himself, he began to appreciate her more as a friend. She was a brilliant designer, a great baker and she was fiercely protective of her friends. Her strange behaviour had subsided a little, which allowed them to be around each other like regular human beings. 

And he started really liking her, he really did. She became his other best friend.

Until one night, when they were 17. 

***

It was almost winter, so the nights were getting really chilly. It was late and he had insisted on walking her home after their group project meeting. The group broke off into their usual pairs, Alya and Nino (who were dating) and Adrien and Marinette (who were NOT dating - but seemed like a couple most of the time anyway).

As they walked home, he noticed Marinette shuddering beside him. Her hands wrapped around herself and she was rubbing them up and down against her arms to create some friction.

"Marinette, are you cold?" he asked, concern in his tone. She blinked up at him with bright blue eyes and smiled.

"Nope! I'm fine," she said, but still trying to pull the sleeves of her thin sweater down around to cover her fingers so they wouldn't be exposed to the cold air.

Scoffing at her blatant lie, Adrien removed his felt jacket swiftly and wrapped it around the shivering girl before him.

"B-but then _you'll_ be cold!" she said uncertainly.

"It's fine because unlike yours, my sweater is actually useful," he laughed, pointing out his thick cable knit sweater out to her.

"If you're sure..." she replied reluctantly, but put on the jacket anyway, a feeling of warmth and relief coming over her as she settled snugly into the cozy jacket.

Adrien watched her silently. 

Her nose was pink from the cold and she was sniffling a little bit, her facial expression appearing grateful for his offer. His heart started pounding a little harder in his chest, he noticed.

His jacket was a little too big for her and the sleeves went past the tips of her fingers. She stood there, in the soft light coming from a shop window, her cheeks flushed pink, giggling at how large his jacket looked on her.

And at that moment he thought she was so cute that he wanted to kiss her.

He didn't, of course. Instead, he quietly took her hand in his.

"Your fingers must be cold."

She blushed a little and nodded. They didn't say anything after that. They were hand-in-hand for the rest of the walk back.

***

Adrien's face grew warm at the memory. He hadn't thought about that night in ages but that was probably the first moment where he had felt something other than mere friendliness towards Marinette.

He didn't know if it was the teenage hormones talking, but those feelings had began creeping up on him repeatedly during that last year they were together.

He kept the flirting to a minimal though, saving all his energy for Ladybug, whom he was convinced he was truly in love with. Marinette was just a crush, he had told himself at the time.

And yet, when he came back to Paris a few weeks ago, he had seeked out _Marinette_ first, not Ladybug. And upon seeing her, all his repressed feelings came flooding out, and he had actually done what he had been wanting to do for years now, which was to kiss her.

And, if he was being honest with himself - and since he had her on the floor anyway - he had wanted to go beyond just kissing her.

But right now, he was heartbroken. He didn't even want to _consider_ a romantic relationship right now, not with anyone.

He wanted someone to talk to. 

Nino was great at distracting him from his pain, and they had spent quite a bit of time just hanging out in the past week, but he was never that great with emotions and girl advice. Plus, he was in a stable and loving relationship and Adrien didn't want to bother him with horror stories of his own failed ones.

He just wanted his friend Marinette back to comfort him, to talk to him and spend time with him.

Because the truth was, he had nobody else.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys i had to rewrite the second half of this chapter like six times because it kept deleting my edits.
> 
> I'm so tired of it deleting my work ;-;

"I'm over it," Marinette said determinedly, placing her mug of coffee on the table with a little more force than she had wanted. "And even if I'm not, I'm gonna pretend to be over it until I'm _really_ over it."

"What do you mean 'you're over it'?" gaped Alya, her eyes round with shock. "Girl, when did this happen?"

The pair of best friends, of course, were discussing the termination of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's long-term emotional ties with a certain Mr. Adrien Agreste over tea at a little bistro hey had just discovered.

"Four days ago," Marinette replied tiredly, rubbing at the dark circles that were becoming increasingly prominent under her eyes.

"And may I ask why the sudden change of heart? Because this is so unlike you. And frankly, I'm starting to worry about you," Alya said, her voice full of concern.

Her best friend had been out of sorts for a while now. She looked miserable and exhausted all the time, and now she was declaring her very long crush on Adrien _over_? Just like that?! It was almost unbelievable.

Marinette's mouth wrinkled into a frown. "I dunno, Alya... I just think it's time, you know? Five years," she sniffed bitterly. "Seems like a very long time of me being pathetic."

Alya reached over and covered Marinette's hand with hers, giving it a tight squeeze. She looked at her with worry. "Surely _something_ must have happened to make you change your mind?"

Her tone less serious now, she continued jokingly. "I mean, girl, seriously, you've been an idiot about it for five years, why stop now!"

Marinette rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Alya..." she warned, her tone of voice flat and humorless.

Alya backed off slightly and frowned a little. "Sorry, it's just that, I was rooting for you, ya know? Nino and I both were, since high school! We just thought that you'd get something good out of it, even if it was just a short fling or something."

Burying her head in her hands, Marinette sighed. "I know, right? Quarter of my measly life and all I have to show for it is a kiss."

Alya dropped her half-eaten eclair on her plate.

"WHAT."

With a quick and confused dart of her eyes around the room, Marinette tried to find the source of Alya's outburst. But Alya was looking straight at her, with her mouth hanging open. And immediately, Marinette realized her mistake.

"It wasn't -" 

"YOUUUUU. KISS??? ADRIEN AGRESTE-"

"Alya! Shush!" she hissed, grabbing the eclair half and stuffing it into Alya's mouth again, just to shut her up.

Marinette's face had turned a bright crimson now and she turned sheepishly at the sight of some of the other customers glancing at the pair. "You can't just say his name, he's famous," she reminded her.

"Wyu kicched wyu furst?!" Alya mumbled, her mouth still full of eclair.

"Don't speak with your mouth full," scolded Marinette, trying her hardest to sink into her chair and become one with the floor tile right now. 

Taking a swig of coffee, Alya glared at her secret-keeping best friend.

"Who kissed who first? Did he kiss you or did you kiss him?" she demanded.

"Geez, I don't know! We kissed each other, ok?" Marinette replied with exasperation, throwing her hands in the air.

Alya's firm look was unwavering. "And when did this happen?"

"When he first came back and visited me at my apartment," Marinette mumbled, burying her face into her jacket, her cheeks stained pink.

"I _knew_ it! I _knew_ the two of you were _all over each other_ when I called you!" she shrieked, causing more stares and Marinette to smack her in the arm.

But then she narrowed her eyes. "Youuuu liars! You and Adrien both lied to us! You sneaky lil shits!"

Marinette sighed. "We didn't tell you and Nino because it was an accident, Alya. A mistake. And it wasn't a big deal."

"And why isn't it a big deal? This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it?" Alya raised a questioning eyebrow. "Does this have something to do with why you called me this morning, making grand declarations that you wanted to have nothing to do with your feelings for Adrien?"

"Kind of," Marinette nodded sadly.

Now it was Alya's turn to sigh. "Listen, you can tell me, alright?"

Marinette looked over at her brown-eyed friend guiltily. She wished she could talk openly with Alya about everything that went on in her life but between her double life as a Ladybug, her knowledge of Chat Noir's identity, her secret living arrangements with Adrien and the fact that _she_ was the one who broke Adrien's heart, Marinette felt like there was no way for her to speak freely about anything anymore.

 _'I have so many secrets that I can't even tell my best friend about,'_ she thought, feeling a little depressed.

Alya was clearly full of anticipation, waiting expectantly for an explanation. Thinking quickly, Marinette decided that the best way to approach the subject was by being extremely minimalistic about the details while still getting the gist of the story across.

"Adrien likes someone else," she finally spoke. "And I feel like if I were to impose my own feelings for him onto him, it will only make matters worse."

Alya looked genuinely taken aback by this piece of information. "He likes someone else? How do you know?"

"I was with him the other day and he was heartbroken... Absolutely crushed over this girl," she said bitterly.

Frowning, Alya asked, "Is this why you've been avoiding him all week?"

Marinette sat up straight in her chair and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "How did you know that?"

"Adrien told Nino! Aaand then Nino told me... and now I'm telling you!" Alya explained guiltily. "Sorry, Nino didn't mean any harm in telling me, he was just worried about his friend. Adrien was pretty bummed out."

"Great, he knows I'm avoiding him. He's upset. And he probably hates me now!" Marinette groaned, burying her head in her hands. "It gets better and better!"

Alya scratched her chin in a contemplative manner. "I don't get it though. Isn't this perfect for you? If he's sad over someone, why don't you just swoop in and take him for yourself?"

Marinette shrugged. "Not gonna lie, I thought about it. But as much as I like him, I don't think I'd be happy with that. I don't want to be a rebound, or just some replacement for someone else," she said sadly, pushing her food around on her plate with her fork. "If I'm going to be loved, I want to be loved for me."

She put her fork down and continued, with more confidence now. " - Which is why I've decided to let go of this crush. I just don't think it's healthy anymore. I'm not going to try to convince Adrien to like me any more than he already does. I'm going to treat him like I would any other good friend, because I _do_ still want to be friends with him. And whatever comes out of it, I will happily accept it," she said determinedly.

Alya reached across the table to give her best friend a hug. "If you're sure about it..."

Marinette nodded. "I am."

"Then, girl," Alya said with a smile. "I will support you all the way."

***

Adrien couldn't keep his gaze from slipping over to the front door every few minutes. He was seated at the dining table with his laptop, keying in some numbers for work, but he couldn't help but get distracted by his personal life problems.

Even though the worst of it had subsided, pain of that night with Ladybug still hung around like a dull throb. And now, he was starting to wonder about Marinette as well.

 _'Feelings suck, but at least they're more interesting than making a spreadsheet,'_ he grumbled internally.

His gaze was absentmindedly fixed upon the door when it suddenly clicked open and a frazzled-looking Marinette walked in.

He noted that she looked pale and exhausted, her usually youthful and cheerful demeanor replaced with one that was sullen.

"Mari, welcome back!" he called out, waving to her from where he was seated. 

She looked up at him, a little surprised to see him there, but she smiled weakly at him. "Hi Adrien, how was your day?" she asked, walking over and taking a seat beside him at the table.

"I had a decent day, but _you_ look like you've been put through a calculus test AND two divorces," he said kiddingly, but half-frowning at her.

Marinette laughed. " _Two_ divorces? I must've been a bad wife."

"You probably left one of your husbands alone by himself for too long," Adrien joked, but she caught his tone. She knew what he was referring to and she didn't reply.

He lifted her chin up with his finger and his thumb and blinked innocently at her, raising a curious eyebrow, as if he were asking her what was wrong.

"I had a rather nice day, honestly," she assured him, leaning away from his touch. "In fact," she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small decorative tin, "I got something for you."

She placed the tin gently into his hands and beamed. "You like cookies, if I recall?"

Adrien's green eyes lit up at the gift. "Oh man, I love cookies." 

"And look, it has a little black cat design on it," she pointed out, smiling fondly at the pattern. "I was at a bistro with Alya today, and I saw this and thought of you."

"You shouldn't have," was what he said but the reality was that he had already stuffed three cookies into his mouth by this time. "Also, how did you know I liked cats?"

Marinette went stiff for a second. _'Because you're Chat Noir'_ didn't sound like a valid answer. "Um! You've always liked them, haven't you? Since high school," she said quickly, brushing away some crumbs that had fallen onto his laptop.

"Anyway," her eyes dipped down and away from Adrien. "Please take this as a peace offering," she said quietly. "I know I haven't been around much..."

Adrien paused his cookie eating, replacing the lid of the tin carefully, as if he were holding something precious. "Apology accepted." He placed his fingers gently on her wrist, which was resting on the table. She didn't pull away this time.

She glanced up to see him grinning at her. Snapping his laptop shut, he came up with an idea. "Hey, you wanna hang out together? Like right now? We could -uh- get a pizza delivered or something, and watch anime!" he suggested eagerly.

"I'd love to, Adrien," Marinette laughed at his sudden enthusiasm.

"Great! Sitting around by myself is killing me," he sighed, massaging his neck. "And work is a terrible distraction from, u-uh," he faltered, the corner of his lips dipping into a frown.

"I know," Marinette nodded sympathetically. She was literally the last person who needed a clarification of what was bothering him.

After Adrien called for a pizza delivery, the pair of them got cleaned up while waiting for it to arrive. 

Adrien returned to the living room in grey sweatpants and a navy sweatshirt, his hair mussed up and looking every bit the model that he was, even in his casual clothes.

Marinette couldn't help but look on in awe when she saw him, before remembering that she wasn't supposed to be crushing on him anymore.

She evaluated her own outfit - white silky pajamas with matching shorts - and decided that while she may not be as naturally poised as Adrien was, she didn't look half bad.

Clearly, Adrien agreed. "You, uh, look nice - cute!" he stumbled over his words, his cheeks a little pink as he tried not to eye her legs that much (it didn't help - he still did).

Marinette blushed and wondered if she had made the wrong move when she decided to put on her matching ensemble.

But as she sat down on the couch, Adrien hurriedly bundled her up in some fluffy blankets that he had grabbed from his room. "Don't want your stems to get cold in those _shorts_ ," he drawled, dragging out the word 'shorts' lasciviously in a way that made her stomach churn.

His warm fingers had brushed up against the cool skin of her thigh as he pulled up the blankets around her, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat.

When his touch was gone, she immediately missed it.

 _'Stop it, Marinette,'_ she scolded herself. She reminded herself of the resolution she made this morning and tried to push away those thoughts from her mind.

Adrien appeared to be oblivious to her fluttering pulse when he abruptly left to receive the pizza which had just arrived at the door.

But in truth, he had felt something too.

He had felt like keeping his hands on her skin.

 _'Stop it, Adrien,'_ he thought frustratedly. He felt guilty for looking at his _friend_ that way, especially since he hadn't fully recovered from Ladybug's devastating blow to his ego. He didn't want to treat Marinette like a fallback option.

He took a deep breath before going back to where Marinette was waiting for him. He noticed she appeared a little flushed as he placed the pizza box in front of her.

"You ok, Princess?" he asked, dropping himself unceremoniously into the seat beside her.

She nodded, her face still a slight pinkish hue. "I'm good! Play the show," she urged him impatiently.

"Ok, ok, patience, mon cher, " he laughed, a pizza in one hand and a remote in the other. He fiddled around with the control for a while and after a while, Cardcaptor Sakura was playing on their television screen.

"This one is a classic," he informed her smugly.

They sat back and watched a bunch of episodes, both of them totally engrossed in the show, not noticing how each other squirmed in their seats when some of the scenes hit too close to home.

Adrien hadn't watched the show in a while, and he realized how many similarities the show had to his real life.

 _'Of course I had to pick the anime with the magical girl and her equally-magic male partner who fight monsters and also have cute little magic guardians. Not to mention the kids are totally in love.'_

But one glance at Marinette showed him that she was really into it, and he was satisfied with his choice after all.

He heard Marinette yawn at the end of the sixth episode and he knew it was time for them to go to bed. "Guess we should call it a night," he smiled, rolling to look up at her.

Wait. Up?

They blinked at each other. He was definitely looking up at her chin. And she was looking down at him.

Then, as if some sort of trance was broken, he realized that he was curled up on the sofa with his head on her lap, and she had one hand resting on the back of his head, fingers absently twirling the locks of his hair behind his ear.

"Ah! Sorry!" Marinette cried, snapping her hand back as quick as she could, while he shot upright, away from her lap.

They blushed furiously for a few moments, but Adrien broke the silence by clearing his throat. "T-thanks for keeping me company, Mari," he mumbled, standing up and gathering the blankets from the sofa.

"No problem, I had fun," she muttered back. Shooting a fleeting glance at him, she played with the edges of her shirt and said, "I'm going up to sleep now."

He nodded. "Me too! I mean, in my own room, n-not with you," he stuttered, cringing at how he had misconstrued his own words.

She giggled. "Of course not. Goodnight, silly kitty."

"Goodnight, Princess!"

And they turned away from each other and quickly departed into their respective rooms, so that neither could see how red their faces had become, or hear how loudly their hearts were pounding.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! <3
> 
> Here's a side-character driven chapter for you! no fluff, i'm sorry :( i promise there will be fluff next chapter (i think)

Chat Noir didn't know if it was because he had been gone for too long and was out of practice, or if he was just getting old, but the akumas lately really haven't been pulling their punches.

He hit the latest edition to the akuma lineup, Cipher - a cryptographer whose work had been stolen - with his trusty baton, but Cipher dodged his attack and sent Chat crashing into a wall.

_'Now that one really hurt,'_ Chat groaned, rubbing his back where it had made contact with the wall. 

He looked over his shoulder to where Ladybug was fighting off the akuma, and even _she_ was breaking a sweat today.

Making eye contact with his partner, he signaled for her to send Cipher his way. She nodded, looping her yo-yo string around Cipher and dragging him forcefully towards Chat.

"You really _strung_ him along, M'Lady," he quipped, smirking a little. "You seem like someone who enjoys doing that."

Ladybug glared at him. "Not really the best time to do this, Chat," she growled, pulling the string around Cipher tighter.

Chat held his paws out in mock surrender. "I know, I know, touchy topic," he flashed his pointy white teeth in a mischievous smile. "First, we gotta _crack_ this codebreaker." 

Once Cipher was within reach, he grabbed the cryptographer's cipher dial pin - where the akuma was hidden - and hit him square in the head with his baton. Cipher yowled in pain, unable to move, and crumpled to the ground.

"All yours," Chat said as he tossed the pin over to Ladybug, who stomped on it with her foot and deevilized the akuma that came fluttering out of the cracked pin.

The partners stood side by side as the city returned to normal around them, the silence a little awkward now that there was nothing to punch between them.

They had stopped hanging out with each other as Chat Noir and Ladybug after that night of their argument. They began to do solo patrols - which was actually their original arrangement, except they kept crashing each others' patrols just to chill.

As much as they tried to maintain their professional relationship, it was difficult to go back to normal.

It had been weeks since they fought, and while they could joke around a little now, their rapport was never able to go back to the way that it used to, which both of them secretly thought was a shame.

At least they were still able to work together to kick butt just fine. It was only their personal friendship that took a toll. It felt weird to be together without actually having a battle to fight.

Chat was the first to break the silence. "Is it just me, or are they getting worse? I mean, they were already pretty bad but the fights have been kinda brutal lately," he mused, stretching out his muscles and wincing at the sore spots.

"They're definitely getting nastier," Ladybug agreed. She was panting a little after that intense battle.

"Do you think ol' Hawky is planning something?" Chat asked, his face pulled into an expression of concern.

Ladybug nodded grimly. "It sure seems like it." She glanced over to her partner, who was poking gently at a bruise on his cheek and making faces. "You'd better get that iced."

"Well, let me put it up against your heart then," he replied without thinking, cupping his hand against his bruised cheek.

"Chat."

She frowned at him through the mask, a little hurt by his words.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for," he mumbled, shuffling his feet. Not wanting to make things worse between them, he turned and started walking away. "Rest up, Ladybug," he called out as he left.

Ladybug watched him as he left.

With everything that was going on in her life, she would definitely need to catch a break.

***

The less time Adrien spent with Ladybug, the more he focused on spending time with Marinette.

He was starting to appreciate her as a companion more and more. She was always so sweet to him, and he found himself becoming increasingly attracted to her.

Not that he wasn't _already_ , but lately, it was getting worse. Or better. Adrien wasn't sure which.

Much to his chagrin, though, Marinette was dodging every attempt he made at flirting with her. Their once coquettish and teasing relationship had become increasingly _friendly_ , which he hated without really knowing why.

He kept reliving the time he kissed her again and again, wondering what would have happened if they had been left to their own devices.

Which was weird, since he was still bitter and hung up over Ladybug. He couldn't help but always have her in mind. 

Every time he thought about asking Marinette out on a date, he would think about Ladybug, and then he would somehow convince himself to change his mind.

"Plagg?" he asked, one afternoon, while he was sitting alone in his office.

"What's up?" Plagg popped his head out of Adrien's jacket pocket, a little surprised because the kid almost never talked to him when he was at work.

Adrien sighed. "Is it wrong for me to have feelings for two different people at the same time?"

Plagg scoffed. "Not gonna lie to ya, it's kinda weird."

"Ugh, I know, it's freaking me out a little," Adrien groaned, smashing his head against the table with a soft 'thud'. He shut both his eyes and let his head rest there, too emotionally exhausted to even lift it up again.

"But I can think of one _extremely specific_ instance where it's not," Plagged smirked, flying up and landing on the monitor of Adrien's computer.

Adrien peeled one eye open and looked at Plagg curiously. "Which is?"

"Can't tell you. Scouts' honor," he said, raising a tiny paw.

Adrien rolled his eyes at his kwami. "You're not a scout. And you literally don't even have the fingers to do the salute."

"Details, details," Plagg shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't even know why you keep asking me for love advice. Cheese recommendations? Sure. But love? Ehhh, not really my forté."

He scrabbled around, looking for cheese and Adrien reluctantly fished a sliced of camembert out of his secret cheese stash that he hid under his desk.

Adrien watched as his kwami nibbled at the slice and blew a strand of hair frustratedly out of his eyes. "But what should I _do_ , Plagg? I'm so confused."

Plagg sniffed. "Just make up your mind."

"But it's so _hard_ ," Adrien moaned dramatically, slumping back into his large leather armchair.

"It's only complicated if you make it complicated, kid." 

Adrien pouted indignantly. "Love sucks."

"Well, take it from me," Plagg chuckled, holding up a piece of camembert that he had broken off. "Love is just like cheese; if you want it to be good, you gotta deal with the stink."

It was a surprisingly accurate comparison.

Laughing at the silly analogy, Adrien looked fondly at the tiny kwami. "Hey, Plagg?"

"Hm?" Plagg replied between mouthfuls of cheese.

"I know I don't say this enough, but I love you," Adrien smiled.

Plagg's cheeks turned pink but he grumbled in response: "Love you too, kid."

"Now pipe down and let me eat this camembert in peace."

***  
"Babe, we gotta do something," Nino groaned, massaging his temples in frustration.

"Oh my god, _right_?!" Alya whispered harshly, squeezing her boyfriend's hand. "I mean, look at them! What is going ON?!"

The four friends were hanging out in the city, just walking around and doing things they found interesting at the spur of the moment.

Right now, they were in a curiosities shop, looking at weird vintage nicknacks. But Alya and Nino had been looking at their two friends more than they had looked at anything else the whole day.

The couple hung back behind a cabinet, peeking over it to watch Adrien and Marinette's strange behavior in confusion. 

When he thought nobody was looking, Adrien had been staring at Marinette all day. And Marinette, bless her little heart, was very obviously struggling not to sneak glances at him back.

One moment, Adrien would be making some silly joke and Marinette would break out into peals of laughter, and the next, they would be back to forlornly eyeballing each other behind their backs.

There was so much tension between them that Nino and Alya could cut through it with a knife.

Nino sighed. "I can't watch this, it's killing me."

"They're such idiots!" Alya cried incredulously, her hands flailing around her head in exasperation. "Literally everyone they know can see that they like each other, EXCEPT THEM."

"Dude, they're _so_ oblivious, it's not even funny," he frowned. "You know, Adrien doesn't even realize he likes her that way."

Alya turned to her boyfriend, and grabbed his shoulder. "This is more serious that we thought. We have to intervene," she determined. "We need to show them that they can't do without each other."

Nino scratched his head in contemplation before breaking into a small smirk. "I think I have something in mind for Adrien. You got anything planned for Mari?"

His brown-eyed girlfriend narrowed her eyes and nodded. "She thinks she can get rid of her crush on Adrien. So we need to show her that no other guy can even hold a candle to him."

"Perfect," Nino chuckled sneakily. "While that happens, we need to make Adrien realize that he likes Marinette. _By making him jealous_."

Delighted by their quick and sneaky thinking, Alya grabbed Nino by the collar and kissed him hard on the lips, right in the middle of the store.

Caught completely off-guard, Nino's face turned pink as he asked breathlessly, "Wow, what was _that_ for?"

"I love it when you come up with devious plans with me," Alya grinned, still holding on to his collar.

"Commence Underhanded Adrinette Intervention?" he winked.

Alya smirked back at him. "Oh, it is SO on."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS TODAY WOOT!
> 
> \- Anya

"ULTIMATE MECHA STRIKE III, YEAH BOII!" Nino yelled, grabbing the controllers out of the box that Adrien stored them in and throwing one to his friend.

"I'm gonna kick your ass this time, Nino, just wait," Adrien grinned as the game booted up on the screen.

Nino had come over to the apartment for a few rounds of 'bro bonding' with his best friend.

Marinette was busy with work, which was perfect because it meant that Adrien could have Nino over without having him run into her, since Nino didn't know that Marinette was living with him.

The two buddies played round after round of Ultimate Mecha Strike III, the apartment booming with sounds of explosions and attacks, interrupted with intermittent swearing by Adrien and Nino when either of their mechas were attacked.

"TRIPLE-SUPER-KILLER STRIKE COMBO!" Adrien shouted, his NAD03 mecha crushing Nino's IRON. "Aaand you have been _pulverized_!" he said smugly, pumping his fist in the air as the game declared him the winner.

Nino groaned in defeat, tossing his controller onto a few pillows that were strewn on the floor beside them.

"Aw man, you really beat me good," he grumbled. "Well played, Agreste."

"You tried, Lahiffe. But nothing can beat me."

He stretched his arms out above his head, tired from all the gaming. "Hey, let's take a break, yeah? My thumbs are getting a cramp."

Nino nodded in agreement. "Sure thing."

The pair got up off the floor and headed towards the kitchen to grab a drink. Nino looked around the apartment curiously. 

"You have a lot flowers in your house for a guy," he noted, pointing to the vases of fresh flowers on the various tables he had.

Adrien scratched his head guiltily. "Uh yeah, a friend of mine helped me decorate because my apartment was so drab," he answered truthfully.

It was 100% true. He had let his friend put up a few decorative touches around the house because he knew flowers made her happy.

He just didn't mention that the friend was _Marinette_. 

"Even the photos?" Nino raised his eyebrow, picking up a frame that had a photo of himself, Alya, Adrien and Marinette smiling together at the surprise party they threw him.

Adrien nodded. "Yup, that was also done.. by my friend."

"A friend," Nino narrowed his eyes, "Or Marinette?" he asked, holding up another photo frame with just Adrien and Marinette in a selfie, their beaming cheeks squished together in the frame, wearing silly hats that Marinette had knitted for them when they were teens.

"UH, WHAT," Adrien blurted out, lunging forward in a panic and grabbing the photo out of Nino's grasp and tucking it away under a pillow. 

"That's an adorable photo," Nino laughed, watching curiously as Adrien turned a shade of pink. "He-ey man, you and Mari, huh? It's cool, dude. Just own it."

He patted his sputtering bro on the back violently as as Adrien choked on the water he had been drinking on.

"Fine," Adrien finally admitted. "Mari decorated the apartment. Are you happy now?" He shot a dirty look to his best friend who was giving him a know-it-all smile.

"You sure that's all you have to confess?" Nino pressed.

"That's it," Adrien insisted, crossing his arms.

Nino sighed and smacked him on the shoulder. "C'mon, man! Everyone knows you like Marinette, just admit it!"

"Is it _that_ obvious?" Adrien groaned, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Duh," his best friend replied. "Have you even asked her out yet?"

"No," he sighed. "I haven't gotten around to it. Besides... Mari... She doesn't like me like that, Nino."

This earned him another smack from Nino. "DUDE. That girl likes you so much, it's insane that she manages to even stand straight when she's with you!"

"She does?" Adrien asked innocently, genuinely unaware of Marinette's struggle. 

Nino smacked his own forehead this time. "Oh. My. God. You two are freaking dumb."

He had been observing the will-they won't-they situation between his two best friends for years and to think that after such a long time, they were still oblivious? It was laughable.

"Well, I didn't know that! What should I do, Nino?!" Adrien cried. "I don't know what I should do!"

Nino grabbed his friend by the shoulders and stared at him seriously. "Romance her," he said dramatically. "Sweep her off her feet. Show her how much you like her and she will be yours for the taking."

"Are you sure?" Adrien asked uncertainly. Romancing Marinette sounded like a weird thing to do.

Nino waved a nonchalant hand over his face. "I've been in a stable relationship for four years, I think I know what I'm doing," he smirked.

"But are you sure Marinette likes me? Like, how do you know?" Adrien's eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Literally anybody with eyes can see that she does," Nino assured him.

"But I never noticed -"

"That's because you're a damn idiot."

"Ouch."

"Sorry, dude. It's true."

Adrien held up his hands in surrender.  
"Alright, alright. You've defeated me this time, Lahiffe."

He would do as Nino said and see where it led him. 

Suddenly, he felt really nervous.

After talking to Plagg, he felt like he needed to do _something_ about his feelings. He had to make a decision. And now that Ladybug wasn't an option, he was free to fully realize how much he really, really liked Marinette.

He never realized it before - and lately, he had been asking himself why - but she was everything he was searching for.

The irony was that he never really had to search at all. She was right there in front of him. _His for the taking..._

Adrien was determined now.

By the end of the week, he would tell his Princess how he truly felt. He was sure of it.

And he was terrified.

***

He left for patrol shortly after Nino went home. They had continued playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III for another two hours until they realized how late it had gotten (Adrien lost consistently after he had the talk with Nino - he was too distracted by his thoughts to concentrate).

Chat was currently casually looking down upon the streets of Paris from his vantage point.

He wondered if Ladybug was going to crash his patrol tonight, but he doubted it. They hadn't done that in a long time. If he were being honest with himself, he _really_ missed her.

He hopped from rooftop to rooftop, using this alone time to reflect about his partner. 

Ladybug was the only person who knew about his secret life as Chat Noir, and he had felt comfort in being able to share his burdens about superhero life with her, but even she was distant now.

But he didn't feel that bad about it tonight. Because thanks to Nino, he had just realized how much he wanted to try things out with Marinette. And now, he knew that he might actually have a chance at a romantic relationship with her.

That is, until he spotted her laughing in the moonlight, in the arms of another man.

***

Nino and Marinette had sat down for lunch at a cafè two days ago. Alya had had to bow out because she was down with the flu, so it was just the two of them today.

"Really, Nino? A date?" Marinette sniggered. "You think I should go?"

Marinette's friend from work, Andrew, had just asked her out for dinner and Marinette was contemplating if she should really go out on a date with him.

On one hand, it seemed like it would be good for her to see other people instead of pining over someone whom she wasn't sure was really into her all that much.

But on the other hand... she wasn't fully convinced that she didn't like Adrien enough to wait for him. No matter what she told herself and her friends, she still liked Adrien too much to just forget him like that. Especially now that he was paying so much attention to her.

Nino shrugged. "Why not? It could be good for both of you."

"I don't know, Nino. Andrew? Adrien? It's a little too on the nose, don't you think? Besides, you're the last person I would have thought would want me to go on a date with someone else," she sighed.

She was a little taken aback by his encouragement. Nino had always been very supportive of her trying to win Adrien over, so having Nino actually _urging_ her to go on a date was surprising.

But what was even more surprising was what he was about to tell her.

Nino leaned forward at the table, his expression serious. "Listen, dude. You know I'd do anything for my boy Adrien."

Marinette nodded. She believed him. Nino had even been akumatised before because of Adrien. They had a very strong bond.

"Then I suggest you stop playing around with his feelings. And yours, too."

"What do you mean?" she mumbled, fiddling with the hem of the tablecloth a little nervously now.

"You either tell him you love him, or you give up entirely. You need to stop being selfish by not deciding which of the two you want. You're gonna end up confusing him and hurting him if you do."

"I didn't mean to," she whispered, her eyes teary. Was she really hurting Adrien again? She didn't want to, she didn't mean to! She just wanted him to be happy...

Nino's eyes softened. "Hey, Mari," he said gently, squeezing her hand. "It's alright, don't cry... I'm just saying, you really need to pick a side. For both your sakes."

Nino was right. She needed to make a decision.

And she had made up her mind. She wanted to stop accidentally wounding Adrien again. It was time.

"I'll go on the date."

***

Andrew was trying his best, he really was. 

He had brought Marinette to the Ponts des Arts, one of the most romantic locations in Paris. Yet, his date was still unsatisfied. He couldn't help it if he wasn't as graceful or charming or - Marinette sighed - devilishly handsome as Adrien Agreste.

He had knocked into her twice at the counter of the ice cream parlour, and not in a cute bump-and-blush way either. He full-on accidentally smacked her in the arm once and bruised her shin another time.

He also failed to wrap his jacket around her when she shivered from the chilly wind. It was only when she outwardly stated that her fingers were losing their sense of feeling from the cold of the wind and the ice cream that he got the message and removed his jacket.

Of course, she didn't expect him to do so, but it was something that Adrien always did without asking and she had come to take his gestures for granted.

Marinette couldn't help but wonder if her date paled in comparison because he was actually a bad date, or if it was because she kept subconsciously pitting him against Adrien.

Most people would agree that Adrien was a one of a kind male specimen. He wasn't perfect, she knew that much, especially since she knew his flaws because she spent so much time with him as his friend. Even so, he still seemed like a cut above the rest.

He had perfect manners, he was _so_ multi-talented, kind and gorgeous all-around.

She felt bad for any guy who had to try and compete with _that_.

But then she realized that her date was doing that exact thing right this moment, and she wasn't even giving him a chance.

She snapped out of her daydreams and turned her attention back to Andrew, who was explaining proudly about how he had come to be a part of the fashion industry in Paris.

 _'Ah but Adrien has been a part of it since he was born, and he never once bragged about it,'_ she sighed, once again getting distracted by her thoughts.

"Marinette?" Andrew called out, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in concern. "Did I bore you?" he asked, his cheeks a little red.

Marinette shook her head guiltily. "Of course not, Andrew! It's very - interesting!"

Andrew continued, reassured by Marinette and made a joke about something she hadn't paid attention to.

She pretended to laugh but their "conversation" was rudely interrupted by somebody popping their messy blonde head in between the pair to separate them.

"Meowch, Princess. I turn my back for one minute and you're on a _date_ ," Chat Noir interjected, his green luminescent eyes shifting between a frozen Andrew and a stunned Marinette. "You wound me."

"Chat Noir, what are you doing here?" Marinette cried out a little breathily, feeling too excited and glas to see him here than she knew she ought to be.

"I was just doing my rounds - the _mew_ sual - when I spied this little scene right here. And I'm sorry to tell you but there's been an akuma attack so you folks better get going or you'll be eaten alive," he urged quickly, shoving Andrew and Marinette apart. 

Andrew glanced at Marinette, completely confused. "We didn't hear anything -" he started, but Chat shut him down instantly.

"Trust me, it's a bad one. So get going," Chat said flatly, glaring irritably at him. 

Andrew picked up his belongings and started to reach out for Marinette's hand but Chat swatted it away. 

"I was just gonna send Marinette home -"

"It's fine, I'll do it," Chat growled. 

"But don't you have to fight the akuma -"

"Don't worry about it.

Chat eyed the jacket that Marinette was wearing and gestured at it with his thumb. "This thing yours?" 

Andrew nodded. Chat immediately peeled it off of Marinette's back and tossed it back at him. "But she's cold -"

"She'll be fine," Chat said lazily, but to prove his point, his hands had sneakily snaked around Marinette's waist and he pulled her closer to him so that their sides touching. "I'll keep her warm," he winked. 

Lifting Marinette up bridal-style, he smirked at Andrew in a way that screamed 'I WIN' and shooed him away with a flip of a paw 

"Buh-bye, whatever-your-name-is," Chat laughed, and he ran off with Marinette clinging onto his slender frame, leaving Andrew stranded by the sidewalk, appearing extremely lost and befuddled.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really fluffy and I enjoyed writing it a lot :,)
> 
> Also, a wild marichat appears
> 
> \- Anya

So smug was Chat that he didn't notice that Marinette was blushing furiously at him - partly because she was actually blushing, partly because she was actually furious.

He glanced down and made eye contact with a pouting Marinette.

"What? Why are you making that tomato face?" he asked, continuing to leap through the night towards their apartment.

"Chat Noir. Did you just kidnap me?!" Marinette cried incredulously. "What were you thinking?"

"There was an akuma attack, I needed to get you meowt of there," he fibbed, laughing a little. He wasn't even bothering to be convincing because he knew that Marinette saw right through him, as she went on to point out.

"I know there wasn't an attack, Chat," she said sternly.

He shrugged. "I could see that the date was a dud. So I saved you. Even from afar, it looked ap _paw_ ling."

"I was having a good time!" Marinette insisted. "Andrew was very... interesting."

"Interesting?" Chat scoffed. "If that's the best thing you have to say about your date, then lemme tell you something, Princess: it wasn't a good one."

"What do you know," she muttered under her breath. "Ah!" she cried out softly, as Chat dropped her down gently onto the ground. They had arrived at the hallway of their shared apartment.

But Chat wasn't letting her go just yet. He cornered her, forcing her against the door the same way Adrien had when he first visited her apartment. He closed the gap between them with one step. "I could show you a thing or two about romance, Princess," he purred, leaning into her ear.

"Is that so?" she whispered huskily back, intent on flirting back with him this time.

She hadn't had to have this kind of fun with Adrien ever since she promised to herself that she wouldn't. And now that her date was a bust, she needed to take out her frustration on someone.

And someone just so happened to be obliging her right at this moment.

She brought her hands to his waist and leaned closer to Chat, who was already licking his lips and eyeing hers.

"I have a lot to teach..." he murmured, his eyelids growing heavier and their faces growing closer.

"Then I guess I have a lot to learn..." she hummed. Her eyes dragged recklessly across his leather-clad body and even though she had wanted to mess with Chat, she felt her own breath hitch.

"Princess, are you checking meowt?" he smirked.

"Maybe," she teased, drawing him in.

And then she waited. She let his face lean closer and closer.

But right at the last second, right when Chat's lips were less than an inch away from her own, Marinette put up a finger and pressed it gently against his lips, acting as a barrier between them.

Chat opened his eyes and blinked twice. "What - " he started, his lips still smushed against her finger, but she held on to his face and shook her head with a disapproving 'tsk'.

"As much as I'd _love_ to do this, I have a feeling my close, _close_ friend - oh, who happens to be the guy I'm living with, by the way - _Adrien_ ," she smirked at him pointedly, raising her eyebrows innocently. " - won't approve of me kissing random people in the hallway right outside his door."

Chat opened his mouth to reply, but Marinette didn't let him speak.

She wasn't done teasing him yet.

"Kind of hypocritical, isn't it? Because Adrien and I _totally_ made out in the hallway that one time," she sighed contently, batting her long dark eyelashes demurely. She was stroking Chat's bottom lip slowly with her thumb, thoroughly enjoying the reaction of her partner as his face started to color.

"But of course, I'd be more than happy to oblige you, mon minou," she continued, her voice high pitched and sickly sweet. She was wickedly drawing him in with her bright round-eyed stare. "If you think Adrien will be alright with it...?"

Marinette's hand had slipped down from his chin to his collarbone, where she was playfully tapping on Chat's bell. She pretended to be preoccupied with it, until she felt him gulp.

Chat started rubbing the back of his neck, a trait Marinette had long since realized was his (and Adrien's) nervous tick. 

"I don't think he'll mind," he said cooly, trying to play off the fact that he was EXTREMELY flustered by Marinette's cheeky taunting. "But that being said, it would probably be in my best interests not to flirt with the damsels in distress."

The girl scoffed and folded her hands over her chest. "I wasn't in distress, I was on a date," she reminded him. 

"Oh, but you've gotta admit, it was distressing how _not_ cute he was," Chat smirked, flashing his pearly white teeth in a way that made Marinette feel a little lightheaded.

"I thought he was pretty cute," Marinette countered, even though she didn't really mean it. She just liked playing games with Chat, especially now that she knew it was Adrien.

"But not as cute as me," Chat winked, fully aware than Andrew could never compare to him. "Let's be honest, I helped you dodge a bullet there."

She rolled her eyes. _'What an ego.'_ "Oh, you really saved me there. How could I ever repay you?" she drawled sarcastically.

Shrugging, Chat replied, "By not going on dates with just anyone."

"And what exactly counts as 'just anyone'?" Marinette challenged, using her fingers to make air quotations as she spoke.

Her partner grinned. "He has to at least be as dashing as me -"

"I'll never find one."

" -and as charming- "

"But you're the most charming."

" -and handsome-"

" _No!_ "

"And with an excellent physique, such as myself," Chat finished gloatingly.

"You've set impossible standards, Chat," Marinette laughed, poking him playfully in the chest. "I'll be single forever."

"You could always just go out with me," he offered, grinning madly at her again.

But she didn't reply with a snark remark of her own. Instead, she cupped his cheek fondly. "That's actually really sweet, Chaton."

Chat didn't know how to reply. He had expected banter, which he could counter easily. But this was far too innocent and honest for him to make a joke out of. They faced each other for a second before he finally said quietly, "I should probably go then?"

"Probably," she agreed. "You should go before I get the chance to ask you how you knew where I live."

Chat's ears perked up at the comment and he immediately went wide-eyed. "Uh, I need to leave. Right now," he said quickly. He didn't have a good enough explanation for knowing what building Marinette stayed in, much less for dropping her off _in front of their doorstep_.

With one last glance back and wave, Chat turned and slinked down the hallway and onto the fire escape outside, while Marinette broke into a huge smile.

 _'That was fun,'_ she giggled. _'It's not every day I get to play with such a cute kitty.'_

Once she was sure he was gone, she pretended to fumble with her purse for a while.

_Ten._

She was counting down slowly in her head, because she knew that Chat would be doubling back around the building to enter their apartment from the balcony.

 _Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One._

She finally fished out her keys.

_Zero._

She opened the door and stepped inside, stifling a laugh when she spied Adrien lounging on the couch, seeming a little out of breath even though he was supposedly relaxing.

"You're looking a little soggy," she noted, pointing out his hair and shirt that were a little damp from the sweat he had worked up while running around as Chat. "Did you run laps or something?"

"It's just hot in here," he muttered, sitting up to face her as she entered the room. His eyes scanned her outfit lazily from head to toe, sizing her up properly now that they were no longer under the dim lighting of the streets and the hallway. His lips pulled into a slight scowl. 

He didn't like that dress.

It would have been fine under different circumstances; it was very beautiful on her. 

_'What_ doesn't _look good on her?'_ he thought.

But now, the fashion savviness in him was bubbling indignantly. He thought it was too short, the color was inappropriate ( _'Love's first blush. Pssh. As if.'_ ), the neckline was too revealing, and that she shouldn't have worn something that made her look so... attractive! on a date with somebody other than him.

"You're dressed nice. Did you have a date?" he sulked, pretending not to know.

"As a matter of fact, yes," she replied cheerily, twirling around on her toes to show off her dress. Secretly though, she was happy to be playing along.

_Round Two._

"Who with?" Adrien asked, still grumpy.

"A friend from work," she answered sweetly. "Andrew."

"Andrew? Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "That's not a little too on the nose? Andrew? Adrien?"

Marinette shrugged. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," she sniffed, acting as if she had not asked Nino the same thing two days ago.

Adrien scowled further and continued his interrogation. "Was it a good date?"

"Hm, it was going super well," she lied. "We went to get ice cream. Until the date got crashed, by - guess who - CHAT NOIR!" she cried out immediately, not even pausing for a moment to let Adrien guess.

"And then Chat forced me to leave my date by the sidewalk and go home!" she huffed in mock anger.

At the mention of Chat, Adrien's lips curved upwards slightly into a smirk. He leaned back onto the couch, pretending to be calm. "Oh? And what did he want?"

She knew Adrien was playing games too, so she wanted to kick it up a notch.

_'Oh, you're on, Agreste.'_

"I think he was jealous," she stated smugly. 

Adrien snorted. "Jealous? Why would Chat be jealous because of you?"

"Maybe... he likes me?" she offered, leaning her face in to Adrien's as she swung her legs playfully, perched upon the armrest of the couch.

When Adrien snorted again instead of replying, she frowned at him. "What, you don't think Chat Noir thinks I'm good enough? He _did_ try to kiss me and then ask me out on date."

"Maybe he was joking," he shrugged, smiling a little.

"Maybe. Even so, I'd go out with him. He's pretty hot."

"You think Chat Noir is hot?" he shot up and asked suddenly, his face a little pink.

"Black and leather makes for a pretty sexy combination," Marinette smirked.

His eyes widened. "Sexy?"

"Sexy," she confirmed, drawling out her voice, and enjoying how Adrien was squirming uncomfortably.

"W-well, I still don't like the idea of it," he said quickly, turning away from her gaze. "Of you running around at night with strange men," he frowned.

She watched his grumpy expression, trying her hardest not to laugh.

 _'You make it too easy, Chaton,'_ she thought.

She crossed over to the couch he was sitting on and casually deposited herself into his lap, having given up the whole 'Do Not Flirt' rule with Adrien.

_'Screw that, THIS is way more fun.'_

He grumbled a little but made no attempt to move her away.

Wrapping her hands around his neck, she tilted her head curiously towards him. She spoke slowly and deliberately. 

"Adrien, are you jealous?"

His reaction was immediate. His face shot bright red up to the tips of his ears at the accusation. "Jealous? Me? No way," he scoffed unconvincingly, crossing his arms tightly across his chest in denial.

"You look pretty jealous to me," she laughed, poking gently at his nose. Who knew that jealous Adrien would be so adorable.

He swatted her hand away, pretending to be annoyed. "I'm just saying, if you had wanted to have an ice cream date, you could have just asked me, you know? We could have gone together."

"Yeah right you would have," Marinette rolled her eyes, crawling off his lap and settling into the seat beside him instead. "Five years and you've _never_ asked me out on a date. Ever."

Adrien stood up suddenly and blinked at her. "Did you want me too?" he asked, his green eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

Could it be? Had she actually been waiting for him to make a move all this time? Had he been so preoccupied by his own infatuation for Ladybug that he didn't even realize that Marinette had been in front of him all this time?

This was his chance to do what Nino told him to do! _'Romance her. Sweep her off her feet,'_ was what Nino had said he needed to do if he wanted to show how much he liked her.

Marinette blinked back, surprised by his sudden movement. "Well - yeah? I guess," she breathed out uncertainly, her heartbeat a little quicker now.

Was this breaking her no-crush resolution? She wasn't suppose to crush on Adrien, but it was _technically_ fine if Adrien had a crush on _her_... right?

Not giving her mind time to decide, Adrien grabbed both her hands and gave them a squeeze. "Then I'm sorry, Nino was right. I'm a real idiot," he chuckled. "I'm sorry this took so long, but Mari?"

"Hm?" she whispered, unable to take her eyes off his. His hands felt warm in hers.

"Will you go on a date with me?" he beamed, pressing his forehead onto hers.

"Um - wha - _yes_?" she stammered, slightly bewildered by his response.

"This Friday. The LaFayette Gala. There'll be fashion, food and dancing, it's gonna be great," he grinned, his excited gaze boring deep into Marinette's blue eyes, sending chills down her spine.

"I- I'll make you a matching tie," she smiled back unsurely, her head giddy at the prospect of a fancy (and very public) date at a high-profile fashion event with Adrien Agreste, who was bound to make a few heads turn just by having that last name. Not to mention the fact that he's famous.

She tugged at his sleeve nervously. "Do you think I'll fit in?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

Adrien stroked her hair lovingly, his thumb resting against her cheek . "Of course not, Princess. You'll definitely stand out. Because I have no doubt you'll be the prettiest girl there," he whispered in her ear, making her blush.

"That's embarrassing," she complained, but actually feeling happy on the inside that Adrien had called her pretty. She buried her face in his chest and hit him lightly.

"So it's a date. This Friday. I'll pick you up at six," he winked, fully aware that they lived in the same house and he wouldn't have to pick her up from anywhere.

"Ok, Adrien," she whispered back.

She had no doubt that she wouldn't be able to sleep until Friday arrived. Because she finally got her wish. 

Marinette was going on a date with Adrien.

"And Marinette?"

"Hm?"

"You're gonna love it."


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the suuuuper late update, I had a block and then I was busy with school and THEN I injured my hand so it was hard to type haha
> 
> But I promise it will get more frequent! I might upload another one in a few hours, and it's gonna be an Adrinette chapter, so stay tuned.
> 
> I think this series will end soon.
> 
> As for this chapter, it's really long. And I know Paris doesn't have an indoor ski, I made it up.
> 
> \- Anya

"It worked!"

"It _so_ worked."

"Operation Underhanded Adrinette Intervention was a success," Nino grinned proudly at his girlfriend, the two of them huddled up at the edge of the bench. They were both watching Marinette while congratulating themselves in hushed tones.

"Thanks for giving them both enlightenment," Alya laughed quietly, nuzzling into Nino's arm.

"Thanks for convincing Andrew to ask Mari out," Nino patted her head in return. "How'd you do it?"

"Sneaky reporter stuff, don't worry about it," Alya waved a hand in the air and winked.

Marinette was spaced out in the middle of eating her sandwich, with a huge dazed plastered on her face, and blissfully unaware of her friends' whispering across the table.

"Um. Marinette? The ham is trying to escape your sandwich," Nino informed her as a slice of ham slid away from the sandwich she was holding and onto her plate.

"Oh!" she cried, quickly angling her food so she wouldn't lose any more ingredients from her lunch.

"Girl, you've been sitting there smiling like an idiot for the past ten minutes," Alya smirked. "Anything you want to tell us...?"

Marinette's eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. "Adrien asked me out on a date!" she rushed out, barely containing her emotions. "He _actually_ asked me out. On a date."

"About time," her best friend rolled her eyes jokingly. "Took him long enough."

Neither Nino nor Alya were really that surprised (mostly because they had orchestrated the whole thing) but they were incredibly happy for her.

It had been a long time coming and to see the pair finally take a step forward - even if it were just _one_ date - was an improvement over the extremely long game they had been playing with each other over the course of their friendship. 

Marinette kind of felt guilty because she _had_ misled him a little with the whole Chat Noir thing; but in the end, it was _Adrien_ who asked her out, so it had to be ok...

Right?

She decided it was.

She was far too happy to be guilty over it anyway.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed at that moment. She picked it up and her heart leaped when she saw the name on the screen.

**Message from Adrien <3<3**

Obviously, they had texted countless of times before, but _this_ time felt different. It was charged with a different kind of energy.

She opened the text.

**Adrien <3<3:  
Hi.**

Her spine crawled. _'"Hi" is my new favorite word,'_ she gushed.

Typing quickly, she responded.

**Princess:  
Hi.**

She felt slightly giddy even replying to his text.

**Adrien <3<3:  
Wyd?**

**Princess:  
I'm on my lunch break**

**Adrien <3<3:  
I'm bored.**

**Princess:  
Aren't you supposed to be working**

**Adrien <3<3:  
I can't concentrate. I keep thinking of our date. **

**Princess:  
Same :3**

**Adrien <3<3:  
What do I wear?**

**Princess:  
I think you'd look fetching in a dress *^***

**Adrien <3<3:  
I don't think France is ready for me to show that much leg, but i'll consider :3**

Marinette broke into a stupid grin as she read the silly message, one that Alya noticed immediately.

She launched forward and extended her arms to grab at Marinette's phone. "Oh my god, is that HIM? IS HE TEXTING YOU?" she shrieked.

Marinette jumped back, pulling her phone away to dodge her best friend.

**Princess:  
Brb**

A blush crept across Marinette's cheeks as she held her phone in the air, high above their heads. "Maybe," she replied coyly, biting her lip in a way that completely gave her away.

Part of her mind was still imagining Adrien's legs in a dress, and part of it was noticing that Alya and Nino had started looking at her with suspicion.

Alya narrowed her eyes. "He TOTALLY is! Are you... _sexting_?" she screeched, her eyes wide and mock horror forming on her face.

"Alya!"

"That's really gross, sexting in front of your friends over lunch," Alya teasingly scolded her. "I'm gonna lose my appetite."

She groaned. "I'm ignoring you now," she said, turning her attention away from her teasing friend and back to her phone.

**Princess:  
Alya thinks we're sexting rn **

**Adrien <3<3:  
Oh yeah? Then you should tell her she's right.**

**Princess:  
Why? O:**

**Adrien <3<3:  
** **Because  
I want to do _bad_ things to you **

**And make you scream my name**

**Princess:  
ADRIEN**

**Adrien <3<3:  
Yes, just like that ;)**

**Princess:  
Get out**

**Adrien <3<3:  
Lmao jk princess.**

**(But i can be not-kidding if you want)**

**;)**

She felt her blush intensifying. She sometimes forgot that Adrien was still a guy, and that despite his innocent appearance, he was still capable of making - inappropriate - jokes.

Of course, it didn't help that she _kind-of-sort-of_ wouldn't have minded if he wasn't kidding...

Her face grew warm. This was not the time and place to think about such things.

**Princess:  
You're deplorable**

**Adrien <3<3:  
I think you spelled adorable wrong.**

**Princess:  
I don't think i did  >:(**

**Adrien <3<3:  
You're mad. That's cute.**

**Princess:  
Stop  >:(**

**Adrien <3<3:  
Remind me again why we've never done this before? <3**

She didn't have time to wonder because her thoughts were interrupted by loud sounds of terrified screaming. 

Her phone buzzed a final time and it was clear that Adrien had heard the upset too because he curtly ended their conversation.

**Adrien <3<3:  
Gotta go.**

Without bothering to reply, she rose from her seat and looked around frantically to see where it was coming from.

"An akuma!" Nino yelled. "Let's get outta here!" He grabbed both Alya and Marinette and started pulling them to safety but Marinette yanked her arm away.

"You guys go ahead, I have to get something important!" she lied, starting to run away from them.

"But Mari -"

"Go!" she urged. "I'll be fine, don't worry!"

Looking at her uncertainly, her two friends nodded and left. Her heart pounding in her chest, Marinette ran towards the commotion.

And boy, did it look _bad_.

A massive 20 foot half human-half lizard monster was pummeling through the streets and destroying buildings and hurtling people around.

"What _is_ that?" Marinette gasped in horror. "I've never seen anything like that before!" 

"I don't know, but it looks really dangerous," Tikki replied worriedly. "Be careful, Marinette."

"It won't be easy, but I'll try," she nodded, ducking into an alley. "But for now... Spots on!"

Her outfit flashed in red light and Ladybug emerged from the alley, ready for a fight.

She lunged forward and attacked the lizard monster but it flung her aside like she was a pesky fly. Undeterred, she kept throwing punches, trying to slow it down.

But nothing was working.

The monster swished its tail and sent her flying into the sidewalk.

"Ow," she winced, brusing her arm upon impact.

The monster was barely fighting back and she was already panting from the effort.

"This is a new one," came a voice behind her. She whipped her head around to find Chat Noir, frowing deeply as he approached the monster.

"Chat Noir!" she cried. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!"

"Need a paw?" he smirked slightly, lending her an outstretched hand and lifting her up from the ground.

"Thanks. I don't think I can do this without you," she said honestly.

Chat nodded grimly in acknowledgement and poised his baton in anticipation of a beat down.

Moving in coordination, the partners leapt from building to building, trying to get higher up so that they could attack the akuma from a better position.

"On three," Ladybug called out. "One!"

They came up on opposite sides of the lizard monster's head.

"Two," Chat continued, drawing back his baton to strike.

"THREE!"

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir hurled themselves towards the beast and struck his head with all their might, Chat with his baton and Ladybug doing a flying kick.

It growled in pain and staggered backwards a little but it showed no signs of slowing down.

Instead, it swung its arm and wrecked the building that Chat Noir had landed on in one sweep, bringing it crumbling down around him.

"Chat!" Ladybug screamed as her partner disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She rushed to where she had last seen him, scanning around frantically for any sign of him.

"Chat?" she called out again, overturning the blocks of cement that had collapsed everywhere.

But there was no sign of him.

"No.... no, no!" she cried. She felt her eyes stinging. 

Not Chat, not again. 

She couldn't lose him...

She couldn't bear losing Adrien again.

Ladybug sifted through the rubble, desperately looking for any signs of her partner.

Suddenly, she heard a muffled voice calling her name.

" _Ladybug_."

He was alright! "Chat? Where are you?" she called out, moving towards the strained sound of his voice.

"Over here," Chat coughed. He shifted his arm beneath the rubble, causing it to roll away from him. Ladybug spotted the movement and ran towards him.

She found him lying beneath a pile of debris, his head barely sticking out from a gap.

"I seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a un _fur_ tunate situation," he chuckled weakly, still coughing from the dust.

Even in dire moments, Chat Noir could not give up his puns.

Torn between laughing and bursting into tears of relief, Ladybug instead smiled softly at him as she dug him out of the rubble.

"Are you hurt, Chaton?" she whispered, gingerly touching him to inspect for any wounds. He had already suffered enough from that wound he got last time; he didn't need a second round of that ordeal.

"I'm _purr_ fectly fine," he replied with a bright smile. They were both on their knees amongst the rubble, catching their breath before going back out to fight the akuma.

Ladybug watched as Chat Noir brushed the dust away from his suit.

He was ok.

She had been so close to seeing him hurt again, but right now, he was front of her and he was ok.

Moved by her relief, Ladybug threw herself into Chat's arms. 

"Ah-" He blinked in shock, but his arms managed to find their way around her anyway.

"If I knew this was how you'd react, I should have almost-died earlier," he mused.

"Don't say stuff like that," she sniffed. "I thought I'd lost you again."

He sighed and looked down into her watery blue eyes. "I always seem to have the worst luck, don't I?" he said quietly.

"I'm just glad you're safe," she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

Chat had to turn his face away. He couldn't look at her right now.

The more he stared into her eyes, the more he felt his old feelings coming back. And he hated that.

He had Marinette now. And even though this thing with Mari was new and he didn't know where it would take them, he was finally happy again.

Changing the subject, be began to stand up again, offering an outsretched hand to his Lady.

"Ready to get back out there?"

"You bet."

***

They hit the lizard monster dozens of times but he was swatting them around like pests.

"What is his _deal_?" Chat asked, rubbing at his shoulder that had taken a ton of hits since they had started fighting.

"I dunno, he hasn't said anything yet," Ladybug replied, breathing hard. "I don't think he talks."

"Hawkmoth must be feeding his akumas steroids or something, this is some crazy shit," Chat muttered and shook his head.

"I can't even locate where the akuma could be hiding!" Ladybug cried in exasperation.

Before she could reply, she was slammed in the back by the monster's tail and she was flung into a nearby lampost.

"Ahh!" she moaned, writhing in pain. It was a brutal attack and she couldn't get up, even if she wanted to.

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled from above, his eyes darting towards her. 

She was curled up on the ground, her eyes squeezed shut, no doubt trying to bear with pain.

His face contorted into an anger at the sight of his partner hurt. In a rage of fury, he hurled himself at the monster.

"Hell no, not my Lady, you bastard!" he shouted, grabbing hold of the monster's tail.

"CATACLYSM!"

With one fell swipe of his claws, he ripped off the monster's tail, leaving a stump where it used to be.

The lizard monster shrieked horrendously as its tail fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Take that, you filthy reptile," he spat, hitting its leg with his baton, causing an angry roar from the monster.

"Reptile... That's it!" Ladybug cried. Her legs shook a little as she stood but she bit back the pain and headed towards Chat.

"Ladybug, are you ok?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm fine," she brushed aside quickly. "But I have an idea! He's a reptile, which means he's cold blooded! And he'll slow down when he gets too cold!"

Chat caught on. "Which means we need to get him somewhere cold, and fast," he said. "But where?"

They looked at each other before breaking out into a grin.

"The indoor ski!" they said simultaneously.

"I don't have much time before I'll change back though," Chat said, his ring flashing rapidly.

Ladybug waved him away. "I'll distract him, you go change back," she said, running forward and attracting the attention of the monster while Chat hid behind a dumpster and lost his transformation.

Plagg wiped his brow, a little out of breath. "That was a close one, kid," he exhaled. "I need some replenishment."

Adrien rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a slice of camembert. "Here. And hurry, Ladybug needs us," he urged Plagg impatiently.

"Way ahead of you," Plagg replied, downing the camembert in one gulp. Licking his tiny paw, he raised an eyebrow at Adrien.

"What are you waiting around for, you gonna transform or not?"

Adrien grinned at his kwami. "Plagg, claws out!"

***

Chat dropped down to where Ladybug was. She had almost managed to get the lizard monster into the indoor ski but she needed help getting him inside.

"Miss me?" he winked.

"Yes, actually. Come on, help me get this tailless beast inside," she said.

Chat gave her a cocky smile. "No purr-oblem, I just have to -"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence because the monster clawed angrily at both of them.

With a deafening roar, the pair were swept off into the air without effort, and landed with a loud and painful thud on the jagged metal roof of the indoor ski.

And this time, none of them got up again.

***

Chat felt his back searing with pain. His ears were blocked by the sound of his own heart pounding wildly, blood rushing to his head. He tried to open his eyes, but the sunlight was glaring.

Lifting an arm weakly, he shielded his eyes from the light.

"I don't know how many more hits I can take today," he mumbled to himself.

His body felt simultaneously numb and ripped apart with bursts of pain. He tried to get up but he couldn't.

His first thought as he lay helplessly on the roof was Ladybug.

She, too, had been hit, he remembered.

 _'I need to help her,'_ he thought.

Mustering up his energy, he rolled over to his side, biting his lip hard to distract from the pain from his body.

He spotted a blurry red figure, unmoving and laying on the roof a few feet away from him.

"Ladybug," he moaned. "Oh no."

He attempted to get up again, biting his lip harder, until it drew blood.

He crawled towards her, slowly regaining his strength.

"Mmh," Ladybug mumbled in pain. Her suit was ripped at the shoulder and there was a gash where the monster had clawed her.

"You're hurt," Chat said in dismay.

How was he going to defeat the akuma now? She was hurt more than he was but only she could deevilize the akuma. He didn't even know where the akuma was!

Just as he was thinking this, Ladybug reached out and touched his wrist weakly. "His wrist, Chat. He was wearing something, I saw. Cut the chain."

"Alright," he nodded. "Stay put, I'll be back," he said gently. Wiping the blood off his lower lip, he gathered what was left of his strength and leapt off the roof.

He landed forcefully into the back of the monster's head, the impact pushing the reptile into the indoor ski.

It fell heavily in the fake snow, screeching madly and creating a flurry of snow as it crumpled.

The cold seemed to immediately slow him down. The lizard monster lay weakly in the freezing snow, giving Chat enough time to observe his wrist.

Indeed, he was wearing a thin silver chain around it. Hooking his baton under the chain, he yanked at it forcefully.

The chain shattered into pieces. 

Drained, Chat fell knees-first into the snow, exhausted and helpless as to what to do next, when suddenly Ladybug appeared at the entrance of the indoor ski. 

He looked at her in awe.

"M'Lady."

Her hair was framing her face in wild strands and eyes were slightly crazed, tired from the fighting and the pain, but she reached for her yo-yo with determination.

"Time to deevilize," she said finally.

And then it was over.

The monster disappeared, replaced by a very confused man in a lab coat. The damage to the Parisian buildings had repaired itself.

But Chat and Ladybug collapsed to the ground, laying wounded and bruised in the snow. 

"Why was today so difficult?" she whispered, her voice shaky. She had never had this much trouble defeating an akuma before. It had always been easy, she hadn't even needed Chat's help in the past two years.

But today... She _had_ needed him. She wouldn't have come close to defeating the akuma without him.

"Hawkmoth wants us scared," Chat said solemnly. "He wants people to fear him."

"I'm starting to," Ladybug said quietly. "I don't know how I can keep this up, Chat."

"You musn't be afraid, Ladybug," he reached out for her hand. He intertwined it with hers and looked at her with caring green eyes. "We have each other to rely on. I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you -and everyone else- safe.

"I trust you," she said. "And I promise to keep you safe too."

Chat smiled at her weakly. "I'm grateful." But her innocent gaze reminded him of Marinette, and how he wanted -needed- to keep _her_ safe as well.

He thought about her. She was outside when the attack happened, so she was probably affected. All of a sudden, he was full of worry for her safety.

He turned to Ladybug. "I have to go now. Do you need me to carry you home?"

"No," she refused. "I'll be fine."

Giving her a final sympathetic hug, he said, "I'll see you then," before turning away and leaving.

She was sad to see him go. She wanted him with her; she wanted him to tell her that it was going to be ok.

Because frankly, she was afraid. Afraid that she wasn't strong enough to protect everyone.

Suddenly feeling desperate for his comfort, she rushed outside and started making her way home.

Because she knew he would be there, waiting for her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few hours turns into more than a few hours when you fall asleep XP

She had beat him home again.

Marinette stood by the balcony door where she had landed after losing her transformation.

She would have gone through the front door but she had a feeling Adrien wouldn't be back yet.

Because Chat would still be out, looking for Marinette.

She collapsed onto the floor, her body weak and in pain. The cut on her shoulder was still giving her trouble but her heart was focused elsewhere that she didn't really notice the throbbing pain.

"I wish I didn't have to lie to him. He's out there, he's hurt. And I know he's searching for me," she said to nobody in particular, her blue eyes fixed dully on the ceiling. "But I can't tell him to just come home... to me."

She started laughing bitterly to herself, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she did so.

"This is ridiculous."

She thought about how he must be suffering himself. He endured just as many hits as she did, and he shouldn't still be out.

He should be home, healing.

She had half a mind to leave again and bring him home. She didn't know how she would do it but she wanted to anyway. But just as she was thinking it, the latch on the door clicked.

Marinette jolted up from the floor, watching as a harrowed Adrien stumbled in.

His figure was hunched over, a dirty and wrinkled shirt on his back, and he carried his work blazer in one hand, crumpled carelessly.

He looked weak and haggard, matching Marinette's current look.

His green eyes shot up for a moment and they met Marinette's blue ones.

From across the room, they stared at each other, both mirroring each other's pained expressions.

Marinette felt the tears slide out of her eyes. 

Adrien looked _broken_.

It hurt her to see how much the fight had taken out of him.

Adrien, on the other hand, felt his heart sank as he made eye contact with the girl standing on the opposite side of the room.

Her cheeks were smeared with dirt and now, tears. She appeared frail and fragile, her legs shaky as she stood in place.

_'How did I let this happen?'_

Suddenly, as if there were some sort of force that pulled them together, they found themselves stepping quickly towards each other, their eyes never leaving the other's gaze.

They met in the middle, wordlessly falling into each other's arms.

They didn't need to speak to know that both of them needed this terribly right now.

Adrien pulled Marinette in closer as they sunk to the floor in the middle of the living room. She sniffed and buried herself into him.

They stayed like that for a long time, reluctant to move. It was cathartic, being locked in an embrace. It felt miles away from the very distressing fight that they had encountered earlier.

At last, Adrien broke the silence. He pulled his head away and ran his palm against her cheek. "Did you get hurt in the attack?" he asked, gazing at her with dead eyes.

Marinette shook her head. Her body was in pain but she didn't want him to worry. "I'm ok, but you're not," she said, brushing a finger delicately over his cut lip, her touch so light that he barely felt it.

She gently wiped away the crusted blood around his lip with a clean edge of her shirt. 

He watched her movements in silence, his arms draped around her still.

"Better." She looked at his clean lips and nodded, satisfied for now.

"Stay with me."

Marinette glanced back up at him, shocked. He was still looking at her with a blank expression. She knitted her brows questioningly.

"Stay with me," he repeated. "Please."

She frowned at him. "I should be the one saying that."

"Does it make a difference which one of us says it? As long as we do..." He shut his eyes and dropped his head gently onto her shoulder but she flinched, a sharp pain shooting across her.

"Ah," she winced, causing Adrien to shoot backwards and away from her.

"Shit, did I hurt you?" he asked, inspecting her closely. He spotted a few cuts on her body and sighed. "Alright, come on," he started to get up, lifting Marinette up a little as he went.

He lead her to the master bathroom.

"I'd help you but I don't think you'd be ok with that," he said sheepishly, pressing a clean towel into her hands. "Get cleaned up and I can get us something to eat."

"I need to get my clothes -" Marinette began, trying to leave the room so she could go upstairs but Adrien blocked her.

"I'll do it. I'll leave them outside the door when you're done. I'll be waiting outside, of course," he added with a blush. 

"Thank you, Adrien," she said as she entered the bathroom. "I mean it."

"Anything for you, Princess," he smiled.

When she disappeared inside, he sat leaning against the wooden door outside for a few minutes, listening to the silence until he was sure he could hear the sound of the shower running. He rubbed his temples with his fingers, his own head throbbing madly.

He picked at the scab on his lip and decided that he needed a shower too.

***

When Marinette came out of the bathroom wrapped in the fluffy towel, she was greeted with a pile of clean clothes lying on his bed.

She blushed at the thought of Adrien going through her underwear drawer. _'I should have done it myself,'_ she thought. 

She looked around Adrien's room, curious to see what his personal space was like. She rarely, if ever, entered his room. Mostly because Adrien himself was almost never there.

Whenever he found himself at home, he had a tendency to prefer sitting with Marinette in her studio than work in his room by himself.

His room was neat, much more than hers was. She had sketches and sewing materials strewn all across her floor and desk.

Like him, Adrien's room was seemingly perfect.

But she spotted a row of picture frames on his desk. She stepped a little closer and saw a photo of his family. They were happy, playing together at a park.

 _'This must be before his mother disappeared,'_ she presumed.

The portrait of his mother that she had seen years ago was also sitting beside it. 

As she moved down the row of photos, she saw more familiar faces; their friends from high school, a selfie he had taken with a reluctant Nathalie and Gorilla, and finally, one of... her?

It was photo of Marinette - alone - after one of their school trips, shortly before they had graduated. She forgot that he had taken it. She was smiling, flashing a peace sign to the camera as she carried a stray cat in her arms.

She wondered why Adrien would get this photo of her printed, but even more so, she wondered _when_ he had done it.

Because he had only _just_ shown interest in her... if this was a new photo, the boy moved fast.

Not wanting to intrude further, she quickly slipped on her clothes and headed outside to find Adrien, freshly showered and looking marginally better, making a commotion in the kitchen.

"I forgot that I can't cook," he groaned, holding a spatula in his hand. "I hope that you're ok with scrambled eggs. They weren't supposed to be scrambled but... it happened."

Marinette giggled and nodded. He set two plates down on the coffee table, not feeling like eating in the dining room tonight.

"I could order in if you wanted something else to eat," he offered.

"No, this is nice. Come and sit down," she urged, taking his hand and pulling him down into the seat beside her.

Together, they ate silently, with Marinette pushing her food around with her fork more than she ate it.

Finally Adrien, looked at her apologetically. "Are they really that bad?" he asked, pointing to the scrambled eggs.

She shook her head quickly. "No, they're fine!" she said. "I just... don't have much of an appetite tonight."

"I understand. It was rough out there today, wasn't it? But you need your strength, Princess. We have a date in two days and I want to be able to dance with you all night," he laughed. Grabbing her plate and fork, he scooped up some food and held it to her mouth.

Marinette accepted it, but not without her face turning pink. He was feeding her! It felt weird but also somewhat... romantic?

He kept doing it until all the food was gone.

"Good girl," he smiled, satisfied that she had cleaned her plate. He picked up the dirty dishes and deposited them into the dishwasher, before opening up a cabinet and pulling out a small box.

"First aid," he stated, crossing his legs as he sat facing her on the couch. With a soft touch, he tenderly applied antibiotic cream on her cuts. Luckily, they were not deep enough to need dressing, unlike the wound he got last time.

Still, he knew her cuts hurt a lot from the way she bit her lip.

"After I was injured and you helped me treat my wound, I went for a first aid course," he told her as he put away the box. "So if you ever got hurt, I could help you. I guess it's useful for everyone, but it was really just for you." 

Marinette was touched by his actions. "That's so sweet. I didn't think you cared that much."

He shrugged it off. "I felt like I needed to, now that you live here. You're incredibly clumsy," he laughed.

"Hey!" She swatted him on the arm playfully. 

They sat smiling at each other for a few moments before Adrien hooked an arm around her and pulled her towards him.

She responded by scooting closer, nuzzling him gently and leaning into his touch.

He pressed a kiss into the top of her head.

It was as if just being in close proximity to each other was somehow healing for them. 

"Can we just stay like this for a while?" he murmured into her hair.

"I'm not about to let you go."

***

For the first time ever after having fallen asleep with Marinette, Adrien woke up with her still wrapped in his arms.

Adrien silently thanked Nathalie for having purchased a huge sofa for the apartment, because they had unwittingly crashed on it the night before.

 _'If it had been any smaller,'_ he thought. _'I'd have rolled off and been on the floor by now.'_

The morning sunlight streaming in from the balcony hit the figure of his sleeping partner, outlining the features of her face in a soft glow. The room was silent aside from the faint sound of birds chirping outside and Marinette's soft breathing, and as he watched her, he felt a surge of affection for the girl laying beside him.

Her short black hair was strewn loosely across his arm as she rested her head on it, the light casting a bluish tinge to the strands. A dusting of light freckles lay across her cheeks, her lips were slightly puffy and red, and he knew that if her eyes were open right now, he would be mesmerized by her gaze.

 _'Damn it, she's so beautiful,'_ he thought, his free hand moving to brush aside a stray lock of hair and stroke her cheek with the back of his hand. 

He realized at that moment that he loved watching her sleep. He liked the slow rhythm of her breathing, how peaceful she looked and how their legs were tangled together.

He took his time to observe her, enjoying the quiet of it all.

For some reason, it made him incredibly happy.

With Ladybug, it was always intense, their interactions mostly driven by the adrenaline of battle, or their own frustration.

But Marinette was a good mix of both insanely fast moments - where he felt like he was caught up in a whirlwind - and calm ones like this.

"Hngh," she mumbled, shifting in her sleep.

The collar of her short-sleeved pajama shirt fell open, giving Adrien a glimpse of all the bruises she had amassed in yesterday's fight.

He frowned at them.

How did she get so many bruises? He knew the akuma did a lot of damage civilain damage, but she must have really been in the middle of the action to have had this level of injury...

His finger brushed lightly over the cut on her shoulder and he suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to ease her pain. Before he could understand what he was doing, he ducked his head down and started placing chaste kisses on her bruises.

He started from the ones on her arm, and moved at a leisurely pace upwards, towards her shoulders, collarbones and neck.

The movement woke Marinette, who smiled into his chest and asked quietly, "What are you doing, kitten?"

"Making you feel better," he answered curtly, not wanting to remove his lips from her skin for lomg.

A soft smile emerged on her face. She let him continue, allowing him to leave patches of tingling skin with every butterfly kiss that he landed on her.

But her breath hitched in her throat when Adrien's lips fell upon her neck, and he started kissing her - _really_ kissing her - with heady fervor.

It felt so good that she actually felt bad about it.

He nipped at her gently, kissing and biting intermittently and making her wonder what else he was capable of that she had been missing out on.

But when the cool tip of his tongue made contact with her burning hot skin, she knew had to put an end to this before it went too far.

"Adrien. Stop."

But his lips stayed where they were, nibbling slowly at the sensitive spot.

"I don't want to," he murmured into her neck, warming up her already burning skin with his breath.

She felt dizzy.

"Please, stop."

He paused, reluctantly removing himself from her neck and nudging her gently with his forehead. His green eyes looked guiltily at her. "Sorry. Did I push too far?"

"No," she replied, pulling him into a tighter hug. "It's not that..."

Adrien gave her a curious look. "Then what?"

She sighed. She wanted so badly to be able to talk to him without having any secrets but even with everything, she still felt like she couldn't spit the words out.

"If you had a secret, would you tell me?"

She felt Adrien tense around her.

Of course he wouldn't. In this relationship, there was no promise that 'there are no secrets between us.'

And it wasn't just Marinette.

Because Adrien had his secrets too. He just doesn't know that she knows it.

He opened his mouth to reply but he couldn't find the words. He wanted to say yes but he didn't want to lie to her either.

"It's ok, I don't need you to tell me anything," she reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze. "I just need to know something."

Pressing a thankful kiss to the tips of her ear, he asked what it was that she wanted to know.

"If I ever did anything wrong - and I know it's wrong - and you're hurt by it, - but I have my reasons, I swear! - would you forgive me?" she looked up at him with wide eyes, the blue in them shaking slightly with uncertainty.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what was happening. "You're kind of scaring me, Princess."

"But would you?" she pressed on, ignoring his concern. "Even if I made you really, _really_ mad?"

He sat up this time, furrowing his brows. "Marinette, what's this about? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

She looked away. "...No," she lied. She wanted to tell him so many things but she couldn't. "It's hypothetical."

Adrien laughed at this, poking her nose teasingly. "We have a _lot_ of conversations about hypothetical situations."

"I'm sorry," she said, hanging her head.

"To answer your question," he began, slumping back down on the couch and blinking up at Marinette, who was still sitting up. "I'd forgive you. Maybe, if it was something really bad... I'd be angry for a while. It would take time. But I don't think I could be mad at you forever."

He smiled at her and his green eyes flashed with sincerity. She knew then that she trusted him with all her heart.

Falling back into his arms, she snuggled him tightly, her face in his chest as she murmured something.

Something that Adrien thought sounded like a muffled "I love you".

His cheeks blushed pink at the thought of it, but he hadn't heard it clearly, so he was convinced he was imagining it.

 _'Yeah, I probably heard that wrong.'_

But deep down, he felt like if he _had_ heard it right, it wouldn't have been so bad.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and fluffy because I'm busy today haha ~<3  
> Semester has started but I'll upload regularly! - Anya

An emerald dress was beautifully draped over a dress form by a window in Marinette's room. The setting sun shone orange rays through the glass, illuminating the silky floor-length number.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Marinette!" gushed Tikki in awe, admiring the custom piece that Marinette had painstakingly designed and sewn.

"Thank you," Marinette smiled proudly. After the big fight with the akuma, she had spent all her time trying to distract herself by creating the unique piece to wear on her date with Adrien.

And the night could not have come soon enough. She was simply bubbling over with excitement.

"My first real date with Adrien, can you _imagine_?" she sang, twirling around in her room and falling back into her bed. "It feels like my prince is taking me out to the ball!"

"It's going to be great! You'll have a lot of fun!" Tikki smiled, hovering above her.

Marinette scrunched up her face. "I sure hope so. To be honest with you, I'm kind of nervous, Tikki," she admitted.

"But you've been to plenty of galas before! The city always throws one for you!"

"Yes, but as _Ladybug_ , not as _Marinette_ ," she sighed. "There's going to be so many fancy people..."

Tikki patted her hand affectionately. "You'll be fine. Besides you'll have Adrien with you the whole night. So just have fun -"

Their conversation was interrupted by two soft knocks on her door and a muffled called for Marinette.

Marinette shot Tikki a warning glance and the kwami zipped away into her purse before she opened the door a crack.

Peeking an eye out, she beamed up at a half-dressed Adrien standing outside her room.

"Hello there. I thought you were going to wear a dress?" Marinette questioned, raising an eyebrow at Adrien's slim cut trousers and a white shirt that was still open at the collar.

Adrien scratched his head and grinned playfully. "I couldn't get one fitted in time."

"That's unfortunate."

"I know. But at least the guests will be spared the sight of my bare legs," he chuckled. 

She laughed. "Well then. May I be of assistance, sir?" she smirked slightly.

Flustered, Adrien nodded. "Actually, yes, I came up here because I needed your help," he said, attempting to push the door open so he could enter. But Marinette held it firm.

"Uh-uh, no peeking. I want the dress to be a surprise," she tutted at him when he gave her a questioning look.

"A surprise?" he chuckled. "We're going on a date, not getting married. Yet," he added, blushing at the thought.

Maybe they would. Oh god, was he already thinking about such things?! He hadn't even taken her out on a date yet!

 _'Dude, take it down a notch,'_ he reminded himself.  
"I know, but I want to blow you away when I walk into the room," she grinned, standing on the tips of her toes so that she could be face to face with him.

"You blow me away every time you step into the room anyway, Princess," he said huskily, face leaning towards her.

They locked eyes for a moment, vaguely sensing that they were close to approaching each other. That is, until Marinette fake-coughed and snapped them out of it.

"So... What did you need me for?" she asked shyly, twirling her foot.

Adrien's cheeks tingled warmly. "Oh, um. R-right." He pointed to his undone collar. "I don't know how to do -," he gestured frantically to his tie, "- THIS." He hung his head in shame, causing Marinette to giggle.

"You've been a model for decades and you don't know how to tie a tie?" she laughed incredulously. "Monsieur Agreste, I had better expectations of you."

"I always have stylists with me," he shrugged. "I guess I never really needed the skill."

Shaking her head in mock disapproval, Marinette reached out and strung the tie around his collar, her fingers brushing over the material of his shirt. Expertly looping the tie around and knotting it, she tugged at it to tighten it around Adrien's collar.

"There you go," she smiled, brushing away some lint on his shoulder.

Adrien bowed his head gratefully. "Merci beaucoup, _ma belle_ ," he winked, making Marinette blush.

But as he was walking away, he stopped abruptly and turned to face her again, a slight frown to his expression.

"You said this tie is going to match your outfit? Are you wearing a black dress?"

"Nope," Marinette shook her head slowly.

"Black purse? Shoes" he guessed, furrowing his brows.

"Wrong aaand wrong," she said. She tapped her cheek in thought. "Maybe 'matching' wasn't the right word... I'd say it's more _complimentary_. But it matches something of yours." 

Adrien narrowed his eyes at her. "Ok, NOW I'm curious."

"Don't worry about it, handsome," she said, shooing him away with a smug expression on her face. "You'll see soon enough."

Adrien sighed, putting his hands up in defeat. "Ok, but hurry up, I'm supposed to be 'picking you up' in 20 minutes but I can hardly wait."

"Patience, little one," she replied coyly as she slinked back behind the door.

It was going to be worth the wait.

***

Marinette's palm glided across the bannister gracefully as she took small, careful steps down the glass staircase. She paused at the landing, her eyes searching for Adrien's.

And when she caught them, they were wide open and in shock.

"Uh. Wow," Adrien stated stupidly, his mouth falling open as his eyes scanned the figure of the girl before him.

"Hey," Marinette smiled down at him softly, meeting him at the foot of the stairs.

He stepped forward to take her hand, his green-eyed stare feeling like it was burning her.

"Hey," he said, a little breathlessly.

He stood speechless for a few moments, taking everything in. The emerald dress was stunning on her, cutting her figure at all the right places. It was a simple silhouette; a silky smooth column dress with thin shoulder straps and a V neckline.

Simple but elegant, just like the designer - and wearer - of the dress.

"Do you like it?" Marinette enquired shyly, a little thrown off by Adrien's silence.

Almost too enthusiastically, he nodded. "I love it, you look stunning!" he gushed rapidly. "Beautiful - gorgeous!" 

He was running out of synonyms but he grinned wide-eyed at her anyway.

"Thank you," she giggled, blushing. Pointing to his pitch black tailored suit, she told him, "You look pretty darn amazing yourself."

Adrien gave her a lopsided smile. "Don't tell my dad, but this isn't an Agreste suit. It's Armani," he winked.

"Oooh, you rebel," she crooned playfully.

"Well, it still looks sharp," he shrugged, smoothing down the front of his jacket. Reaching out and taking his date's hand in his, he asked her, "Shall we go then?"

Dizzyingly happy, Marinette nodded, and the pair left the apartment and headed to the limo waiting downstairs.

Once seated in the limo, she gathered her composure. This was really happening. Her teenaged crush, years of one-sided pining; finally, she was getting her official moment.

She felt Adrien's arm snake around her waist, tugging her closer to him. He leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Your dress," he said quietly. "It matches my eyes."

Marinette only smiled. He was right, of course, but she didn't reply because he had not asked a question.

The feeling of his fingers intertwining with hers as they sat side by side was answer enough.


End file.
